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TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Minister of Trade Budi Santoso said he has set new targets for the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) negotiations after admitting that it fell behind schedule.
“Hopefully, we can finalize it in the first semester (of 2025),” he said in Sarinah, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025.
The government initially targeted the first quarter of this year to round off the IEU-CEPA negotiations but was hindered by a number of factors. “As it turns out, setting up a meeting wasn’t easy,” he said.
As a result of the setback, Indonesia has yet to secure trade deals with the member countries of the European Union. Nevertheless, Budi denied that the delay is a recurring occurrence. “No, it’s not constantly delayed, as it’s just delayed once,” he said, referring to the previous fiscal quarter target.
Regardless of the delay, Budi maintained the importance of securing an IEU-CEPA deal for the expansion of Indonesian market access. Not only beneficial for Indonesia, Budi believed that the deal could open doors for EU products to enter the domestic market.
The former secretary general at the ministry claimed they are currently negotiating technical matters for the IEU-CEPA, and another meeting is scheduled next week. “It’s looking good. We have coordinated with ministries and agencies and hopefully it will be settled soon.'
Former Trade Minister under Jokowi’s government, Zulkifli Hasan, previously urged for the deal to be concluded by September 2024. At that time, Zulhas said that Indonesia has conceded to various requests from the EU during IEU-CEPA negotiations. The European Union, however, constantly added to its requests, causing the negotiation process to stagnate.
“We want the IEU-CEPA to conclude as soon as possible, but it depends on (the EU side),” he said. “(We are aiming) to finish this week, but if the EU refuses to concede then it’s not possible.”
The Director General of International Trade Negotiation, Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, said the IEU-CEPA negotiation process is obstructed by the lack of common ground between Indonesia and the European Union at the policy level.
“Several discussions about policies are indeed unresolved, as we keep trying to find common grounds,” Djatmiko said in a press conference last year.
Some of the issues include the demand from European Union for Indonesia to impose relaxation—a demand the government is reluctant to meet—and the EU deforestation regulation, or EUDR.
To resolve these obstacles, Djatmiko said at the time, both parties could shelve the unresolved matters and first ink the deal. After all, he went on, the IEU-CEPA is subject to amendment.
Han Revanda contributed to the writing of this article.
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