President Donald Trump announced a “landmark” trade deal with Indonesia on Tuesday, wherein the newest BRICS Alliance member will face 19-percent duties on goods exported to the United States.
In a Truth Social post, the Commander in Chief noted that he spoke with President Prabowo Subianto by phone about removing trade barriers for U.S. imports. The Indonesian leader also agreed that the country will purchase a substantial volume of American-made products.
“As part of the Agreement, Indonesia has committed to purchasing $15 Billion Dollars in U.S. Energy, $4.5 Billion Dollars in American Agricultural Products, and 50 Boeing Jets,” Trump wrote, adding that U.S. farmers, ranchers and fisherman will now have duty-free access to Indonesia’s 280-million-person consumer market.
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Notably, the news was not released in the same letter format of recent tariff announcements, which have read as mandates rather than joint resolutions. The letter did contain familiar language warning the country against transshipping goods from other sourcing locales, the subtext being: don’t help China evade U.S. tariffs.
By Tuesday afternoon, the Southeast Asian nation’s trade officials had not yet confirmed the deal.
President Subianto, has, however, in recent days posted several tributes on X to dealings with other world leaders, including at the BRICS Summit in Brazil last week and a trip to Belgium to meet with European leaders like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Subianto said the two spoke about expanding cooperation between Indonesia and the European Union. “We agreed to deepen the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to open greater opportunities for sustainable trade and investment within the country,” he wrote. During the meeting, the Indonesian president expressed his “strong hope” that the EU “will play a more active role in the economic development of Indonesia and the ASEAN region, for the future of global prosperity.”
European leaders were caught off guard over the weekend when President Trump threatened to levy 30-percent duties on goods from across the 27-member trade bloc beginning on Aug. 1. European leaders and Commission trade officials expressed disappointment and dismay at the surprise social media post containing the tariff announcement, as they have reportedly been negotiating ceaselessly with Washington in recent weeks.
By Monday, their resolve had hardened, with many heads of state indicating that they plan to work with the European Commission to enact countermeasures if a deal cannot be reached with the U.S. before the deadline. Trump indicated to reporters at the White House that he would be willing to continue discussions in pursuit of a deal.
The U.S. president has also made strongly worded threats against the BRICS Alliance, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and, notably, Indonesia, which joined the trade bloc earlier this year. Most recently, he threatened to hit BRICS countries with additional 10-percent tariffs, expressing concerns that the collective threatens American interests and aims to dethrone the U.S. dollar by establishing a new reserve currency.
While the president hasn’t hidden his animosity for the Russia-and-China-led coalition (and he continues to threaten Russia with significant tariffs for perpetuating the war in Ukraine) he appears to believe another member of BRICS is worth turning—and may be close to a trade deal.
Following Tuesday’s deal with Indonesia, Trump told reporters, “We’re going to have access into India… because of what we’re doing with these tariffs.”
