Jakarta. Indonesia recently said that it would back Chile’s bid to become part of the world’s largest trading pact, RCEP, as countries rush to brace for the US’ tariff storm.

RCEP, short for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, is a trade agreement that unites all 10 ASEAN members and five of its external partners: Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, and South Korea. The bloc has accepted some submissions from other countries that wish to use this treaty, which aims to significantly lower trade barriers.

According to media reports, Chile officially applied for an RCEP membership last year. If accepted, it will be the first Latin American nation to join the trade deal that represents 30 percent of the world’s economy. 

Trade Minister Budi Santoso recently reaffirmed Indonesia’s support for Chile’s candidacy. At the same time, Jakarta wants Santiago to also help it secure a seat at the Trans-Pacific trading group CPTPP -- of which Chile is already a member -- Budi told Chile’s international economic relations undersecretary Claudia Sanhueza in Jeju.

“We hope that both of our accessions to the said regional trade partnerships [RCEP and CPTPP] will boost each other’s economy. And not only that, we do hope it will contribute to the region’s growth,” Budi was quoted as saying in a press statement issued Monday.

The RCEP’s joint committee is currently discussing the terms of reference related to the working group for new applicants. The committee aims to wrap up the document within this year, according to Budi. The pact’s accession document states that decisions related to accepting new members should be made by consensus. The ministry reported that Sanhueza had thanked Indonesia for its RCEP candidacy support, saying that “it would deepen Chile’s economic ties with Asia”.

Earlier, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka had already expressed interest in joining the RCEP club. This treaty promises to eliminate 90 percent of the tariffs on the goods traded between its signatories. India used to partake in the RCEP negotiations, but decided to opt out over fears that its domestic market would get swamped with Chinese imports. However, the RCEP decides to have its doors wide open for India in case New Delhi changes its mind. 

Ever since US President Donald Trump unveiled plans to charge Indonesia a 32 percent tariff, Jakarta has been ramping up efforts to widen its export markets. The RCEP, although experts have called the agreement “underutilized”, gains attention for its potential.

Senior economist Lili Yan Ing even told the Jakarta Globe that ASEAN should “simplify the RCEP so Southeast Asian companies can take a better advantage of the agreement”. Earlier this month, ASEAN, as well as South Korea, China, and Japan, agreed to “fully support the robust implementation of the RCEP” amid growing trade protectionism, alluding to Trump’s tariffs. Chile, too, gets affected by Trump’s tariff, but will only face the baseline 10 percent rate.

The aforementioned CPTPP is an economic agreement inked by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The UK joined last year. Indonesia, too, has formally requested to be part of the CPTPP. This agreement allows up to 99 percent of tariff lines among the members to be duty-free. The CPTPP’s share in the global economy, however, is only half of that of the RCEP.

Indonesia mainly exports vehicles and footwear to Chile. Copper, wood pulp, and frozen fish make up the lion’s share of Indonesia’s imports from the Latin American country, official government statistics showed.

Indonesia's surplus with Chile continues to rise, meaning that Jakarta’s exports are topping what it imports. Indonesia ran a $202 million full-year surplus with Chile in 2024, up almost 47 percent from $139.2 million recorded the previous year. The positive trade balance reached $78.7 million in the first quarter of 2025, more than double the surplus recorded in January-March 2024.