NEW YORK, Feb 20 — The United States and Indonesia finalised a trade deal that locks in tariff rates and non-tariff barriers to commerce, the White House announced Thursday.
Officials with the Indonesian government organised a news conference in a downtown Washington hotel to commemorate the signing of the reciprocal agreement, which was originally announced in July.
The accord sets a 19-per cent tariff on Indonesian goods entering the United States.
The South-east Asian country of more than 280 million people had been threatened with a potential 32-per cent levy prior to the agreement.
Jakarta is to exempt US companies from local content requirements and address and prevent barriers to US agricultural products sold in Indonesia, among other measures, according to a White House fact sheet.
Indonesia also agreed to US$33 billion (RM129 billion) in purchases of US energy commodities, agricultural products and aviation-related goods, including Boeing aircraft.
After alarming financial markets last spring with a plan for hefty tariffs, Trump has announced numerous accords, as well as a detente with China.
Trump on February 2 announced a trade deal to reduce tariffs on India.
Earlier this week, he unveiled some US$36 billion in commitments from Japan in US investments, part of a trade accord between Washington and Tokyo unveiled in July 2025.
Despite Trump’s aggressive trade policy, the US trade deficit in goods expanded to a new record in 2025, government data showed Thursday.
The goods deficit stood at US$1.24 trillion for all of last year, widening slightly from 2024’s level to its biggest in Commerce Department figures dating back to 1960. — AFP
