Jakarta. Indonesia is easing its export earnings retention rules for US-bound mining shipments, according to a senior official, citing Jakarta’s trade agreement with Washington. 

Starting in June, Indonesia will require natural resource exporters to park receipts to ramp up foreign reserves and stabilize the falling rupiah. Businesses in the non-oil sector will have to place 100% of their earnings in state-owned banks for at least a year. Oil exporters will be subject to a 30% minimum retention for no less than three months. Companies can use the proceeds for operational needs if converted to rupiah, although the conversion is capped at 50%.

The government, however, will introduce flexibility for miners who export to countries that have already sealed trade pacts or reached a mutual understanding with Indonesia.

“Such businesses only have to park at least 30% of their proceeds onshore for at least 3 months. They would have the option to put the money in non-state banks,” Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto told industry associations in Jakarta on Thursday.

Asked by the press about the export destinations that would qualify for this special treatment, Airlangga replied: “There are exceptions for our partners; we will see. But the US is one of them.” 

Jakarta had already sealed a tariff deal with Washington in late February when the government tried to bring down US President Donald Trump’s import duty hikes. It took less than 24 hours since the signing for the Supreme Court to rule Trump’s tariffs as unlawful. Trump has been doing his utmost to revive the tariff regime ever since, including by launching probes into alleged unfair trade practices in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. 

Bank Indonesia has signaled that American banks could accept the export proceeds.

“As for the eligible non-state banks, we will factor in their size, transactions, risk management, infrastructure, and interconnectivity. But most importantly, if they come from countries covered by the bilateral trade agreement or the other deals,” the central bank’s governor Perry Warjiyo said.

As the clock ticks on the new rule, Airlangga defended this policy, saying that “Indonesia has the right to do so. Other countries like Malaysia and Thailand are doing the same”. 

The two ASEAN nations indeed had urged companies to keep their export earnings onshore. Malaysia-based firms are obliged to repatriate their proceeds in full value within 6 months after shipment. Thai businesses, too, must bring home foreign income, although the country’s central bank had not long ago raised the threshold to $10 million, from the previous $1 million.

Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves stand at $146.2 billion by the end of April, shrinking $2 billion from the previous month. The prolonged US-Iran war continues to add pressure to the rupiah, which closed at Rp 17,667 on Thursday. According to the Trade Ministry, Indonesia’s exports to the US neared $7.3 billion in Q1 2026.

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