U.S. Secretary of Trade Howard Lutnick is scheduled to meet with National Economic Council (DEN) Chairman Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan to assist in negotiations to exempt several Indonesian commodities from import duties in the U.S. market.
Luhut has communicated with Lutnick regarding the tariff exemptions implemented by the Trump administration, which imposes a 19 percent tariff on Indonesian products.
Luhut said that the government is still working to exempt several commodities from the regulation, including Crude Palm Oil (CPO).
"I have asked President Prabowo Subianto for permission to meet with Trade Minister Lutnick to negotiate. He is also a good friend. We will meet on September 8-9, 2025," Luhut said on Wednesday, August 13, 2025.
He cited that the main parameters for commodities proposed for duty-free import in the U.S. include goods that are not available or produced in the U.S.
"Therefore, labor-intensive industrial products in the United States should not be overly burdened by import duties. Our negotiating position should be very good," he said.
Luhut assessed that the interim negotiations had gone well and had succeeded in reducing tariffs on Indonesian local products to the U.S. from 32 percent at the beginning of the year to 19 percent.
He also said that Indonesia is one of the countries with the lowest tariffs in Southeast Asia. Indonesia currently enjoys a tariff of 19 percent, along with at least four other countries, such as Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Meanwhile, Laos and Myanmar have the highest tariffs, reaching 40 percent.
Luhut acknowledged that goods from the U.S. are not yet exempt from import duties. The Coordinating Ministry for the Economy is still developing technical regulations related to this measure.
Previously, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that he was still discussing regulations regarding the exemption of import duties on goods from the U.S. into the country. However, the implementation of this tariff agreement is considered not to require a free trade agreement.
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