Indonesia Pursues Tariff Relief From Washington and a Trade Pact With Europe

Indonesia said it may secure 18 exemptions from United States tariffs, with the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs reporting that the Office of the United States Trade Representative is reviewing the requests, the state agency Antara reported. The talks reflect how mid-sized economies are negotiating individual carve-outs as Washington rebuilds a broad tariff regime.

At the same time, Jakarta is deepening ties with Europe. Senior minister Airlangga Hartarto said the government targets ratification of the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in the second half of 2026, known by the acronym IEU-CEPA, after years of negotiation.

The two tracks show a single strategy. Rather than aligning with one bloc, Indonesia is hedging, seeking relief from American tariffs while securing preferential access to the European market. For a large emerging economy in Southeast Asia, that balance is a way to avoid dependence on any one partner.

The pattern fits a fragmenting trade order. As the United States raises duties on dozens of economies and others pursue regional deals, supply chains are reorganizing around overlapping arrangements rather than a single global framework. Countries that can negotiate from multiple directions gain leverage that the largest powers would prefer to deny them.