Jakarta. President Prabowo Subianto wants the upcoming US deal to also provide clear economic benefits for Indonesia, according to a senior official, ahead of this week’s signing in Washington.

For the past 10 months, Indonesia has been negotiating a trade deal with the US after its leader Donald Trump enacted sky-high tariffs to narrow the country’s deficits. The negotiations have finally reached their final page. The government has confirmed that Prabowo will attend the Trump-led Board of Peace’s inaugural meeting in Washington on Thursday local time. Prabowo and Trump will also ink the highly anticipated tariff pact around that time. With only a few days away from the big day, Prabowo gathered his economic ministers in his Hambalang residence on Sunday evening.

“The president emphasized several points. This includes making sure that Indonesia’s position in any economic negotiations with anyone — especially the US in the near future — is the best and most beneficial for Indonesia,” Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said, commenting on the Hambalang meeting.

“The president wants the negotiation to augment our industrial productivity as much as possible, while also strengthening [our position] in the global supply chain,” Teddy said.

Teddy went on to say that Prabowo wants “every policy that Indonesia takes to create as many immediate and concrete benefits”.

The fiasco started with a baseline 10% tariff on US-bound Indonesian goods, and a 32% tax threat hanging over Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Washington later agreed to bring it down to 19% after Indonesia made some sacrifices. There are non-tariff clauses in the document, including allowing cross-border data transfer, which US investors admitted to be crucial for investments in the tech space. Indonesia has made some commercial deals, including a $15 billion energy import pledge, $3.2 billion US aircraft procurement, and $4.5 billion worth of agricultural product purchases. The US also expects Jakarta to scrap restrictions on critical mineral exports, as Trump seeks to shield his local manufacturers from supply chain disruption.

There are some discrepancies in the export-import data, although information provided by both governments showed that bilateral trade had been amply in Indonesia’s favor. The US reported that its goods trade deficit with Indonesia climbed 5.7% year-on-year to $17.9 billion in 2024. Indonesia’s Trade Ministry data showed that the country’s surplus with the US totaled $18.1 billion throughout 2025, up from $14.5 billion the previous year. At last month’s Davos conference, Prabowo told the high-profile conference that Indonesia was not shy about economic integration, as the country seeks trade agreements left and right.

“We conclude trade agreements now, not because it is fashionable, but because we consider it necessary. We believe in the concept of win-win,” Prabowo said at the time.

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