FX.co ★ US-Indonesia Trade Deal Faces Risk of Collapse

A trade agreement reached between the United States and Indonesia in July is now under threat, as Indonesia appears to have reneged on several key commitments. This was revealed on Tuesday by a U.S. official, who wished to remain anonymous and did not specify which commitments are in question, as reported by Reuters. The agreement from July initially outlined that Indonesia would abolish tariffs on more than 99% of U.S. goods and eliminate all non-tariff barriers that American companies face. In return, the U.S. agreed to reduce its threatened tariffs on Indonesian goods from 32% to 19%. However, Indonesian officials have expressed to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer that Jakarta cannot uphold certain binding commitments and wishes to renegotiate them. Earlier on the same day, the Financial Times reported that U.S. officials believe Indonesia is retracting pledges related to the removal of non-tariff barriers affecting industrial and agricultural exports, as well as commitments concerning digital trade issues.