News

The U.S. Chamber on February 18 hosted a gala Iftar dinner in honor of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who visited Washington to attend President Trump’s Board of Peace meeting and to sign an “agreement on reciprocal trade” with the United States. The Chamber organized the gala in cooperation with the US-ASEAN Business Council and the US-Indonesia Society.

In addition to a roundtable discussion with U.S. companies, the event featured the signing of 11 MOUs involving U.S. companies and Indonesian partners. The Indonesian government estimated the value of the commitments at approximately $38 billion.

Embracing Openness: President Prabowo told the 250 assembled guests that Indonesians are pleased to “renew our commitment to openness” as he prepared to sign the trade deal the following day. Expressing optimism for faster growth and further reforms in 2026, he discussed Indonesia’s challenges in weak governance, the need to strengthen institutions, and the problems of illegal mining and fishing and illicit trade.

Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rick Switzer spoke on behalf of the administration in comments that included a strong defense of American companies doing business abroad. He emphasized that when foreign companies invest in the United States, they enjoy legal treatment equal to that of American firms and are embraced by federal, state, and local leaders; 

and he noted that the United States seeks to ensure U.S. firms enjoy similar treatment abroad.

Year of the Mineral: Switzer also said that USTR is calling 2026 “the year of the mineral” and that USTR’s negotiations to secure minerals agreements will seek to create price floors to support a greater geographic diversity of mining and processing to support U.S. industry and that of allies and partners.

Trade Deal Commitments: The following day, the United States and Indonesia signed their agreement on reciprocal trade (full text here). According to a White House fact sheet, Indonesia commits to:

• eliminate tariff barriers on 99% of U.S. exports to Indonesia;
• address a range of non-tariff barriers, including local content requirements, burdensome certification and labeling requirements, pre-shipment inspection requirements, and others;
• accept FDA standards for medical devices and pharmaceuticals;
• resolve many long-standing intellectual property issues;
• exempt food and agricultural products from all of Indonesia’s import licensing regimes and ensure “transparency and fairness” regarding geographical indications;
• eliminate barriers for digital trade, including eliminating existing HTS tariff lines on “intangible products”;
• support a permanent WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions; and
• ensure a level playing field for U.S. electronic payment service companies.

In addition, the agreement specifies that “Indonesia shall not impose digital services taxes, or similar taxes, that discriminate against U.S. companies in law or in fact.”

For further information, please contact Vice President for Southeast Asia John Goyer (jgoyer@uschamber.com).