President Trump Sets 19 Percent US Import Tariffs for Indonesia
United States President Donald Trump announced that a 19 percent import tariff would be imposed on Indonesian products entering the US, based on direct negotiations he had with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto.
"Indonesia will pay a 19 percent tariff to the United States on all goods imported from them into our country," Trump said regarding the agreement reached with Indonesia on import tariffs, as reported by Truth Social social media in Jakarta on Wednesday.
The new figure indicates an agreement has been reached to lower US import tariffs on Indonesian products from the 32 percent initially announced by Trump in April.
As of early July, Trump remains adamant about maintaining the 32 percent tariff on Indonesia, as indicated by a letter on White House letterhead dated July 7, 2025, addressed to President Prabowo.
Following a meeting between Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto and the Indonesian tariff negotiation team, the US Secretary of Commerce and the Head of the USTR in Washington, D.C. on July 9, 2025, it was agreed to delay the implementation of the tariffs to allow three weeks for further negotiations.
Furthermore, Trump stated that Indonesia has promised to eliminate all tariff and non-tariff barriers for US products entering Indonesia.
If any product from a third country with higher tariffs is exported to the US through Indonesia, the 19 percent tariff will be added to that product, Trump said.
In addition to the tariff rate, the agreement signed between Trump and Prabowo also includes Indonesia's commitment to purchase US$15 billion worth of energy from the US and US$4.5 billion worth of agricultural products, the US President said.
Trump also mentioned Indonesia's commitment to purchase 50 new Boeing aircraft, mostly Boeing 777s. However, he did not specify which airlines or parties would purchase the aircraft.
"This important agreement opens the ENTIRE Indonesian market to the United States for the first time in history," Trump said.
He also expressed his gratitude to the Indonesian people for their "friendship and commitment to balancing the US trade deficit with Indonesia."
Analysis Results of a Person Abroad
Donald Trump, on his social networking site Truth Social, said he had reached an agreement with Indonesia that would impose a 19% tariff on goods from that country, while American exports would be tax-free.
“They pay 19%, and we pay nothing. We’ll have full access to Indonesia,” Trump added later at a White House press conference. Indonesia also agreed to buy $15 billion in energy from the United States, $4.5 billion in agricultural products, and 50 Boeing Co. aircraft, many of which are Boeing 777s. The deal also included access for American companies to mine copper and other precious metals.
Trump sent letters warning of tariffs to several trading partners last week, ratcheting up the pressure on negotiators ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline for higher tariffs to go into effect. The letter threatened Indonesia with a 32% tariff, similar to one announced in the spring. The letters were sent out against the backdrop of the BRICS summit, which Trump was "irritated" by the anti-Western rhetoric of the group's leaders.
Indonesia had previously proposed introducing near-zero tariffs on 70% of US imports and commercial deals in mining, energy, agriculture and defense, but this did not convince Trump to reduce the tariff.
Of course, in this situation, credit must be given to Airlangga Hartarto, the coordinating minister for economic affairs, who over the past two weeks has carried the BRICS negotiations, the strategic partnership with the EU and the tense and lengthy negotiations with the US, which has not skimped on economic threats and put pressure on Indonesia in every possible way.
The Indonesian negotiating team has worked as well as possible in all cases. A tariff of 19% will hit the Indonesian economy very hard, but 32% could shake it even more. The steps of President Prabowo Subianto himself can also be highly praised, as he sought to soften the impact of the American tariffs with his visits to various partner countries and negotiations.
According to Trump, he personally negotiated the finalization of the deal with Prabowo: "I spoke to their really great president [Prabowo Subianto] — very popular, very strong, smart — and we made the DEAL," Trump said (though nothing new).
Everyone knows that I have long been criticizing Trump's tariff policy towards Indonesia and the countries of Southeast Asia, and in this situation, the only thing that pleases me is that the United States may not fully understand what a blow they are inflicting on their reputation in the region and how many unwritten rules, moral norms, and traditional political principles they have already violated in the process of negotiations.
From the standpoint of the realist school of international relations, what is happening is easily explained: economic dependence, asymmetry of power, the absence of comparable alternative partners in strength, and the logic of American-Chinese rivalry create a situation in which middle powers are forced to accept imposed conditions. The structural limitations of the international system do limit Indonesia's maneuverability.
At the same time, as a constructivist and a researcher of political culture, ethnopsychology, values, principles and ideologies, I also realize that the demand for a multipolar world and limiting the influence of great powers did not form out of nowhere. International relations are not limited to the number of aircraft carriers, GDP, microchip production, game theory and Thucydides' traps.
Indonesia and other ASEAN countries have already demonstrated the possibility of creating an alternative model of regional cooperation based on the principles of consensus and mutual respect, and have been able to create quite effective mechanisms. Indonesia still has opportunities for diversification on the European track and the BRICS space. It remains to be hoped that now it will be able to avoid Hobbesian traps and Machiavellian deals.
