Jakarta. The Donald Trump 2.0 administration has launched an unfair trade probe into Indonesia and dozens of other countries as Washington seeks to revive its tariff assault.

The US is basing the investigation on Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act.

US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer described the bold move as one of Trump’s attempts to “reshore critical supply chains and create good-paying jobs for American workers”. He claimed that many US trading partners had been producing more goods than they could consume at home.

“This overproduction displaces existing US domestic production or prevents investment and expansion in US manufacturing production that otherwise would have been brought online,” Greer said on Wednesday local time. 

The excess capacity also caused the US to lose “substantial domestic production capacity”, putting Washington “worringly behind” its competitors.

A copy of the federal register notice on the fresh probe alleged that Indonesia’s persistent surpluses had provided “evidence of structural excess capacity and production”. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy had enjoyed a $31 billion global goods trade surplus in 2024, according to Washington’s estimates, thanks to its exports of metals, agricultural products, and textiles, among others. Jakarta’s surplus with the US in goods trade reached a whopping $56.15 billion by November 2025. 

“Indonesia’s cement industry faces a permanent oversupply due to a significant imbalance between production and capacity,” the document reads.

This probe is widely seen as Trump’s attempt to rebuild his tariff salvo after the original regime was struck down by the US Supreme Court. Indonesia had recently clinched a one-sided trade deal with the US government. The pact, which locks Jakarta into a plethora of concessions, remains subject to legal procedures.

The US has requested consultations with Indonesia. A “docket for comments” on the investigation will open next Tuesday. Washington expects “interested persons” to submit written comments, requests to appear at the hearing, along with a summary of the testimony, by April 15. The public hearing is slated for May 5.

The Jakarta Globe has reached out to the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs for comments. 

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