Jakarta. Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto said on Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s decision to maintain a steep 32 percent tariff on Indonesian exports came as a surprise to Jakarta, despite extensive efforts by the Indonesian government to ease trade tensions.

Trump’s announcement -- posted on his social media account -- comes amid a series of proposals from Indonesia aimed at helping reduce the US trade deficit. These include a pledge to increase imports from the United States by $34 billion, covering agricultural products, energy, Boeing aircraft, and other sectors. Jakarta has also signaled plans for a major US-bound investment through its state sovereign wealth fund, Danantara.

“It’s a surprise,” Airlangga told The Washington Post on Tuesday while en route to Washington to meet with US officials. “We have been moving 180 degrees, and the US is not moving at all -- zero. There were a lot of things we had already discussed in detail.”

In contrast, Washington has agreed to lower tariffs on Vietnam to 20 percent -- down from 46 percent -- and on Cambodia to 36 percent, from a previously proposed 49 percent rate. Indonesia, however, remains subject to both the 32 percent hike and a 10 percent baseline tariff applied globally.

The lack of progress has led several Indonesian trade experts to call for a strategic shift in Jakarta’s approach.

Iman Pambagyo, former Indonesian ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), said the White House’s stance underscores that Trump’s trade policy is not guided by fairness or reciprocity, but by “optics, leverage, and domestic political strategy.”

“This outcome was avoidable,” Iman said. “Some of us warned early on that playing Trump’s game would be a trap. Now that the trap has sprung, the question is not how to appease Washington further, but how to build genuine resilience.”

Lili Yan Ing, Secretary General of the International Economic Association, echoed that sentiment, suggesting that Indonesia and ASEAN should bypass direct engagement with Trump and instead influence Washington through American corporations with deep interests in the region.

“Trump will not listen to Indonesia, ASEAN, or any other country. Engaging directly with him is a dead end,” she said in Jakarta. “To safeguard its interests, ASEAN must work through US companies that have reaped trillions of dollars from the region. These firms are ASEAN’s most effective channel to ensure its voice is heard.”

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