Jakarta. Indonesia and Peru officially unveiled a bilateral free trade deal in Jakarta on Monday, an agreement that came as one of Jakarta's attempts to diversify its markets amidst US tariff-induced uncertainties.

Peruvian President Dina Boluarte has traveled to Jakarta to announce the newly signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on goods trade. Her Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, has been eyeing the deal’s conclusion since he visited Lima last November.

The first round of negotiations took place in May 2024, meaning that it only took around a year and two months before they finally clinched the deal. By contrast, Indonesia spent around a decade finalizing a similar trade agreement with the European Union (EU). 

“The CEPA is set to expand our market access and spur bilateral trade activities. A trade deal usually takes years to conclude, but we managed to wrap it up in just 14 months,” Prabowo told a joint presser at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta.

Boluarte called Indonesia her country's sixth-largest Asian trading partner. Peru has also become Indonesia's fourth-biggest export destination in the Latin American and Caribbean region, according to her estimates.

“Once it comes into force, the CEPA will strengthen our economic and trade relations, while also encouraging goods exchange. It will create the basis for future agreements on investment, services, and digital trade,” Boluarte told reporters.

The government has yet to disclose the details of the agreement, including the size of the tariff elimination the pact would grant, as well as its ratification timeline. A CEPA-level trade pact typically sees signatories dropping their tariffs on a majority of goods. The Trade Ministry did not immediately respond to the Jakarta Globe’s requests for comments.

However, Boluarte did thank Jakarta for granting market access for Peruvian blueberries -- something that could further drive up Lima’s fruit exports. 

The signing took place amidst rising bilateral trade, according to Jakarta’s official statistics.

Indonesia posted $264.8 million worth of trade with Peru in the first half of 2025, up by around 34.3 percent compared to last year’s figures. Indonesia’s surplus with Peru rose from $112.7 million to $148 million over the said period. The Trade Ministry listed products such as vehicles and footwear as Indonesia’s top Peru-bound exports. The Southeast Asian nation mainly bought cacao, mineral fuels, and fruits from Peru.

The deal was quite timely as US President Donald Trump’s country-specific tariffs had just kicked in a few days ago. All Indonesian goods entering the US market are now subject to 19 percent tariffs, possibly leaving American consumers to have to foot the bill. Since Trump unveiled his tariff plans, Indonesia has gone out of its way to look for new export markets, including by rushing to conclude trade deals. Unlike Indonesia, Trump keeps his tariffs for Peru at the baseline 10 percent.

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