JAKARTA, July 7 — Indonesia will send its main negotiator to the United States (US) on Monday ahead of Washington's deadline for tariff agreements on July 9, with the two countries also due to sign a US$34 billion (RM143.9 billion) deal involving higher imports of US wheat, soybean, corn, cotton, and energy products.
Senior Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto is due to go to the US to oversee tariff talks on Monday, said Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs spokesperson Haryo Limanseto.
The largest economy in Southeast Asia is facing a 32 per cent tariff on its goods exports to the US.
Jakarta has offered to reduce duties to near zero on the main goods it imports from the US and has also proposed US investment in its critical minerals sector, as well as increased imports of US products.
Indonesia's wheat flour mills association chairman Franciscus Welirang, who is also Indofood director, said that it signed an agreement today worth around US$1.25 billion (RM5.29 billion) with its US counterparts to buy at least one million metric tonnes of US wheat per year from 2026 until 2030.
"We as the private sector will back up the ongoing tariff negotiation," he said, adding that for the rest of 2025 Indonesia will buy 800,000 tons of US wheat.
The US exported nearly 700,000 tons of wheat to Indonesia in 2024, making it the third-biggest export destination after Australia and Canada, data from the local association shows.
As well as wheat, a US$34 billion (RM143.9 billion) memorandum of understanding (MOU) on US soybean, corn, cotton, and energy products will be signed in the US on Monday. Part of the deal is between Indonesia's state energy firm Pertamina and Exxon and Chevron, said Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs senior official Pujo Setio.
Last week, Airlangga said the MOU would involve state carrier Garuda Indonesia. Garuda's chief executive officer said last week that the firm was in talks with US Boeing to buy up to 75 of its planes.
The US is Indonesia's second-largest export market after China, with a total value of US$28.1 billion (RM119 billion) in goods shipped to the US in 2024, according to the US Trade Representative. The Southeast Asian country ran a US$17.9 billion (RM75.8 billion) goods trade surplus with the US last year.
US tariffs could reduce Indonesia's potential growth by 0.3 to 0.5 percentage points, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has warned. The government has trimmed Indonesia's 2025 GDP forecast to a range of 4.7 per cent to 5.0 per cent from an earlier target of 5.2 per cent.
— Reuters
