Just a few months after Prabowo took office in October 2024, the administration was faced with a rapidly changing global trade landscape as the US championed protectionism over free trade by threatening a salvo of tariffs that US President Donald Trump called “reciprocal”.

Punishing import levies were to be imposed on countries that export more products to the US than they import from it, with the specific rate largely depending on the magnitude of the respective bilateral trade imbalance.

In Indonesia’s case, the US in April threatened a steep 32 percent import duty on most goods, forcing Jakarta to scramble for negotiations with Washington to secure a lower rate.

Rizkia Darmawan, founder and managing partner of financial advisory firm Risat Capital Indonesia, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday that the government’s strategy seemed logical under the prevailing circumstances at the time.

The Indonesian delegation managed to bring down the US tariff to 19 percent in July in one of the first Trump tariff deals, which the government hailed as an achievement, but it came with strings attached.

Jakarta committed to importing US$19.5 billion in American energy and agricultural products as well as purchasing 50 Boeing jets, in addition to implementing wide-ranging regulatory reforms desired by US companies, including relaxed cross-border data transfers.