The chief negotiator for Jakarta’s reciprocal tariff deal with Washington says the US tariff exemptions apply to natural resource commodities, hence textiles and textile products are excluded by default.

The Japanese government approved a record budget for the upcoming fiscal year on Friday, to pay for everything from bigger defense spending to ballooning social security costs as inflation persists.

Among the non-essential expenditures targeted by the joint circular signed by the finance and home ministers are ceremonial activities, official trips with “non-measurable” outputs and regional grants disbursed to other institutions.

The incident is the latest in a series of rejected shipments following contamination alerts, with authorities previously identifying at least 24 companies in and around KIMC as having been exposed to Cs-137.

The East Asian superpower has the world's largest rail network – one-fifth longer than the circumference of the earth.

Starting April 2026, the government will not roll out diesel fuel import allocations for private companies, as it anticipates a surplus of approximately 4 million kiloliters of the fuel driven by the upgraded Pertamina refinery and B50 biodiesel policy.

Retailers are seeing a later-than-usual pickup in seasonal sales this year as consumers appear more cautious with their spending, while industry associations say the delayed momentum could carry over past the year-end and into early 2026.

Indonesia has signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) to diversify exports and secure a stronger foothold in a promising “nontraditional market” of nearly 200 million people.

The United States wants access to Indonesia's critical minerals and has agreed to give tariff exemptions to its palm oil, tea and coffee, says senior economic minister Airlangga Hartarto. 

The past three years show that Indonesia’s consumption has moved through distinct phases, shaped not only by how much people spend, but by how they choose to spend it.

Malaysia's Malacca state is again moving to revive a plan to build a cross-strait bridge linking it and Indonesia's Riau province, with a new feasibility study set to commence 30 years after the megaproject was originally proposed.

Foreign tourist arrivals are expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels, even as the sector shows steady post-pandemic recovery. Experts point to intensifying competition from neighboring countries, limited diversification beyond popular destinations such as Bali and a lack of “major breakthroughs” in promoting Indonesian tourism.  

In the shadow of Indonesia’s crackdown on imported secondhand clothing, a quieter, more exclusive form of thrifting continues to operate at the margins of legality.

Indonesia’s technical team, tasked with the legal drafting process, has arrived in the US capital about a week ago to pave the way for Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto.

State revenue reached just 82.1 percent of the full-year outlook in November, down 5.67 percent from the same period last year, while the budget deficit stood at 2.35 percent of GDP, noticeably higher than October's 2.02 percent, though the finance minister said this was "within manageable limits".

The pipeline will link gas sources in Java and Sumatra to key industrial zones across Aceh, North Sumatra and Riau, and is scheduled for completion by the end of 2027.

US consumer inflation slowed unexpectedly in November, delayed government data showed Thursday, although levels remained higher than earlier in the year before President Donald Trump's tariffs flowed through the economy.

They join tech boss Michael Dell and his wife Susan in contributing to the so-called "Trump accounts," part of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" that the Republican president pushed through Congress in July.

Some of the projects set to commence include a US$24 billion aluminium smelter, refinery facilities for bio-aviation fuel in Central Java and a bioethanol facility in East Java.

The government has set a two-year deadline to clear the massive Bantargebang landfill in Bekasi, West Java, leveraging the accelerated waste-to-energy program.

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has acknowledged high pressure on the state budget and said the government’s 2025 deficit target may be missed but vowed that the figure would remain below the legal cap at 3 percent of GDP.

Until now, Chinese consumers have largely relied on supplies from neighboring countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Trade Minister Budi Santoso says he is working to secure a bilateral trade agreement to exempt Indonesia from Mexico's planned tariffs. The move follows reports that Mexico intends to impose duties of up to 50 percent on imports from several Asian countries, including Indonesia, starting in 2026.

A consolidation push in the banking industry looks set to make small lenders targets of mergers and acquisitions as the Financial Services Authority (OJK) wants to eliminate the lowest core capital category, which currently dominates the industry.

Jakarta will send a delegation to Washington to discuss the matter after senior officials agreed to finalize what the two leaders agreed upon on July 22.

Items once promoted to reduce waste are now collected, displayed and replaced at a pace that mirrors the very overconsumption they were meant to counter.

The country has marked a milestone as the first containers of shrimp, certified free of Cs-137, cleared inspections to enter the US this week, ending months of disruption in supplying the seafood industry's largest export market.