February 24, 2026 | 02:41 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) has filed a formal objection to President Prabowo Subianto regarding the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between Indonesia and the United States, signed on February 19, 2026.
Bhima Yudhistira Adhinegara, the Executive Director of CELIOS, said there are 21 points of objection to the newly signed deal. "Containing pleas to prevent ratification, either under a Presidential Decree or a law," he said in a press conference on Monday, February 23, 2026.
The letter was submitted through the Ministry of State Secretariat and was received yesterday. The letter mentioned that the approval of the agreement cannot be separated from the national legal obligations that regulate it.
The U.S. Supreme Court on February 20 deemed unlawful the sweeping tariffs that Trump imposed, just a day after the deal with Indonesia was inked. CELIOS considers the new agreement to lack legal standing before the American legal system.
Therefore, negotiation or revision is no longer necessary. Prabowo Subianto is urged to immediately send a notification of termination of the trade agreement to the U.S. government.
CECLIOS also plans to sue the government in the State Administrative Court (PTUN) for alleged unlawful acts. "If the notification is not answered within 10 days, we will file a lawsuit in PTUN," said Bhima Yudhistira.
CELIOS' objection also refers to Article 4 of Law Number 24 of 2000 concerning International Agreements. Article 4 (1) states that agreements between the government and one or more countries, international organizations, or other international legal subjects are based on mutual consent, and the parties are obliged to implement the agreement in good faith.
Then in Article 4 (2), the government must be guided by national interests in discussing international agreements and based on the principles of equality and mutual benefit, and take into account both national and international law.
According to Bhima, problems arise as there is an indication that the reciprocal trade agreement may be ratified without the approval of the DPR or by using a law, because there is an option to use a presidential decree.
The issue, according to Bhima, is that this agreement covers various aspects such as labor, energy, food, and technology. "This should be consulted with the DPR first. So, it cannot directly use a presidential decision," he said.
Some of the points of objection from CELIOS include the obligation to import oil and gas from the United States amounting to US$15 billion, which has the potential to "triggering a widening of the oil and gas trade balance deficit."
CELIOS also flagged that the elimination of the Domestic Component Level (TKDN) for most of the imported goods from the United States violates the Minister of Industry Regulation Number 35 of 2025. Meanwhile, TKDN aims to empower the domestic industry for high value-added development and technology transfer.
Read: Celios Warns Indonesia-US Trade Pact Threatens Industry
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