TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto traveled to Washington D.C. for negotiations on import tariffs following a letter from U.S. President Donald Trump to President Prabowo Subianto.
In the letter, Trump stated that a 32 percent import tariff on Indonesian products would take effect starting August 1, 2025.
Head of the Presidential Communication Office Hasan Nasbi said Airlangga departed for the United States directly from Rio de Janeiro after attending the BRICS Summit on July 7, 2025.
"This morning, our negotiation team, which will continue the discussion, is already in DC (Washington DC), and the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs is on his way from Rio to DC. I contacted him, and he is currently on his way from Rio to DC," Hasan said at a press conference in Jakarta on July 8, 2025.
Hasan explained that technical matters related to the negotiation would be handled by Airlangga. He noted that the letter from Trump, which formalizes the August 1 tariff implementation date, effectively extends the window for negotiations.
Trump had initially set a 90-day deadline ending on July 9, 2025, for the tariffs to take effect. However, in his latest letter to Prabowo, he moved the implementation date to August 1.
"This means he has extended the time to provide room for the extension of discussions and negotiations," Hasan said. "And in that letter, President Trump also stated that there is still an opportunity to discuss this in order to lower it."
Hasan added that the government remains optimistic the negotiations can succeed in the coming weeks. He emphasized that Indonesia has maintained strong relations with many countries, including the United States.
"Certainly, these good relations can be a good social capital to continue discussions and negotiations there," he said.
Trump's announcement of the 32 percent tariff came after months of negotiations and was conveyed in a letter dated July 7, 2025, addressed to Prabowo. He also posted the letter on his Truth Social account on July 8, Indonesian time.
"Starting on August 1, 2025, we will charge Indonesia a tariff of only 32 percent on any and all Indonesian products sent into the United States, separate from all sectoral tariffs," Trump wrote.
Trump argued that the tariff rate is still modest compared to the amount needed to address the U.S. trade deficit with Indonesia. According to the U.S. Trade Representative, the U.S. recorded a $17.9 billion trade deficit with Indonesia in 2024, up 5.4 percent or $923 million from the previous year.
Trump also warned that tariffs would be increased if Indonesia responded with its own tariff hikes. He outlined conditions under which Indonesia could avoid the tariffs entirely. "There will be no tariffs if Indonesia, or companies in your country, decide to build or produce products in the United States," he said.
He added that the U.S. would expedite all necessary processes within weeks if Indonesia chose to invest in U.S.-based production.
In the same statement, Trump confirmed the delay in the tariff implementation until August 1, extending the original July 9 deadline. On the first day of the BRICS Summit, he also threatened an additional 10 percent tariff on all BRICS member countries, including Indonesia.
In a follow-up post, he announced that official tariff and trade agreement notifications to various countries would begin on July 7 at noon Washington time, or 11:00 PM Jakarta time.
Anastasya Lavenia Yudi and Sita Planasari contributed to the writing of this article.
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