Former US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the finalisation of a new trade agreement with Indonesia and revealed ongoing efforts to secure broader access to Indian markets.
Speaking to reporters and posting on Truth Social, Trump said, “We’re going to have access into India. You have to understand, we had no access into any of these countries. Our people couldn’t go in. And now we’re getting access because of what we’re doing with the tariffs.”
Trump emphasized the importance of the new agreement with Indonesia, which reportedly allows the US full tariff-free access to Indonesian markets, while Indonesia will face a 19 per cent tariff on its exports to the US. He credited the deal to his recent talks with Indonesian President Joko Widodo, also referred to as Prabowo Subianto.
“We made a deal with Indonesia… They are very strong in copper. We will have full access to everything, and we will pay no tariffs,” Trump stated, adding that Indonesia would now be subject to a 19 per cent duty on exports to the US.
He described the agreement as mutually beneficial, noting that “Indonesia has some great products… very high-quality copper, which the US will be using.”
While Trump claimed the deal was finalized, the Indonesian government had not released an official statement confirming the agreement as of Tuesday afternoon.
According to US Commerce Department data cited by CNN, Indonesia exported about USD 20 million worth of copper to the United States last year, a modest figure compared to leading exporters Chile and Canada, which supplied USD 6 billion and USD 4 billion worth respectively.
Trump’s comments also signaled potential progress on a forthcoming trade agreement with India, as part of his broader push to renegotiate trade terms with key partners through tariff leverage.
