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View all search resultsUS tariff pressure melts frozen RI-EU trade talks
Both sides looking for more reliable partners to offset ‘unpredictable’ US policy.
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President Prabowo Subianto (left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (right) announce the "political agreement" of the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) on July 14, 2025 in Brussels. (Presidential Secretariat Press Bureau/Laily Rachev)
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fter a decade of deadlock, the European Union has shifted its tone in negotiations with Indonesia on a long-awaited free trade agreement, a pivot that some economists attribute to mounting external pressure, particularly the growing uncertainty stemming from United States trade policy.
On Sunday in Brussels, President Prabowo Subianto, during his first official visit to the EU as head of state, announced alongside European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that a political agreement had been reached on the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA).
“We have no items of disagreement between the EU and Indonesia, correct? That’s basically the conclusion that we have today,” Prabowo said, gesturing toward von der Leyen during their joint address.
He called the deal a set of “mutually symbiotic” and “strategic breakthroughs” that would serve as an example “in this era of instability and confusion”.
Von der Leyen, for her part, described the agreement as a landmark political commitment that reinforced the EU’s alignment with Indonesia in maintaining “a rules-based international order”.
According to Permata Bank chief economist Josua Pardede, the EU’s newfound flexibility may be linked to growing unease over Washington’s increasingly unilateral trade moves under President Donald Trump.
“Sudden stance changes by the EU, which in the past decade was notoriously strict in its negotiations with Indonesia, are probably closely connected to external conditions, especially the US tariff policy that has recently become very aggressive,” Josua told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
