US Secures 19% Tariff Deal with Indonesia, $19.5B US Purchases Confirmed

US President Donald Trump has announced a trade agreement with Indonesia that reduces the previously threatened 32 percent tariff on Indonesian imports to 19 percent, while US exports to Indonesia will face no tariffs or non-tariff barriers. As part of the landmark deal, Indonesia has committed to purchasing $15 billion in US energy, $4.5 billion in American agricultural products, and 50 Boeing jets, many of them Boeing 777s, marking unprecedented market access for US producers in Indonesia. Trump emphasized that the deal opens Indonesia’s entire market to the US for the first time and asserted that the US would pay no tariffs on Indonesian goods, securing full access to Indonesia's market. The agreement follows a series of tariff letters sent by Trump to various countries as part of his reciprocal tariff policy aimed at reducing US trade deficits, with Indonesia having a $17.9 billion goods trade deficit with the US in 2024. Details on the effective dates and the timeline for Indonesia's purchases remain unspecified, and there are ongoing negotiations with other countries like Sri Lanka and India. While the deal has boosted expectations for US trade, concerns remain about specifics, including the handling of transshipped goods and the impact on industries like footwear importing.