The United States has agreed, in principle, to exempt Indonesian cocoa, palm oil and rubber oil from 19% of customs tasks imposed since August 7 by President Donald Trump, said Tuesday 26 of the main Indonesian negotiators on the subject.
This exemption will enter into force once a final agreement between the two parties is concluded, but a calendar has not been established, the United States is occupied by price negotiations with other countries, said Airlangga Hartarto, also minister of the economy, in an interview with Reuters.
An agreement but high surcharge
During the discussions about customs tasks, they also discussed the possibility of an American investment in fuel storage in Indonesia, in association with its Sovereign Fund Danantara and the Public Energy Company of Energy Perbamina, added Airlangga Hartarto.
The largest economy in the region was one of the first countries to conclude a customs agreement with Donald Trump in July, but Yakarta finally faced the same rate as certain other countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia, and just below the Vietnamese rate of 20%.
During the negotiations, Indonesia proposed investments of several billions of dollars in the United States, as well as purchases of crude oil, liquefied petroleum gas, American airplanes and agricultural products. He also promised to apply zero customs duties in almost all American products that enter their market.
Source: BFM TV
