Indonesian and American firms signed on Wednesday agreements totaling $38.4 billion, just ahead of a planned meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and U.S. President Donald Trump to formalize a comprehensive trade agreement, the Indonesian government said in an official statement.
The 11 agreements were concluded during a dinner hosted for Prabowo by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, covering collaborations across mining, energy, agribusiness, textiles, furniture and technology.
Deals are part of broader U.S.-Indonesia trade deal
Prabowo said the agreements form part of the implementation framework of the broader U.S.-Indonesia trade deal he is set to sign with Trump on Thursday, adding that the pact is expected to help narrow Indonesia’s trade surplus with the United States.
The agreements include a memorandum of understanding between U.S. mining giant Freeport-McMoRan and Indonesia’s Ministry of Investment to collaborate on critical minerals, as well as a deal between state energy firm Pertamina and Halliburton Co to work together on oilfield recovery projects, according to the US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC).
Freeport and the Ministry of Investment also signed a preliminary agreement to extend the company’s mining permit beyond 2041.
The package of deals further features two semiconductor joint ventures, one worth $4.89 billion between Essence Global Group and an Indonesian partner, and another, with undisclosed value, involving Tynergy Technology Group.
Not all of the agreements disclosed financial values, including Indonesian purchases of U.S. lumber and furniture products. In addition, no further details were released regarding a “transnational free trade zone” agreement signed between Indonesian industrial park developer Galang Bumi Industri and Solanna Group LLC.
The total deal value exceeds the figure cited earlier in a fact sheet by USABC, which put the value at just over $7 billion. That estimate included Indonesian commitments to purchase 1 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, 1.6 million tons of corn and 93,000 tons of cotton over unspecified timeframes. The council also said Indonesia plans to import 1 million tons of U.S. wheat this year, with purchases potentially rising to as much as 5 million tons by 2030.
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Indonesia seeks tariff cut to 18 percent
Indonesia said in July that it had secured $34 billion in business agreements with the United States as part of ongoing tariff negotiations, including commitments to import U.S. wheat and soybeans similar to those finalized on Wednesday.
The Indonesian president arrived in Washington this week to attend President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace meeting, with Jakarta aiming to negotiate a modest tariff cut to 18 percent, down from the 19 percent rate agreed last year, aligning it with the rate the U.S. granted India earlier this month.
Speaking at the dinner, Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Rick Switzer did not specify what the final tariff level for Indonesia would be. However, he said the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade between the two nations would boost bilateral commerce and investment, deepening and broadening economic and trade ties between the two countries.
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