Jakarta. The US will exempt Indonesian palm oil from its planned tariffs, according to a senior minister, as the world braces for Washington’s trade surprises.

The Donald Trump 2.0 administration is proposing a new 10% tariff rate on Indonesia following a probe into Jakarta's handling of imports made by forced labor. This fresh import tax will likely enter into force after the current 10% global levy expires on July 24. Airlangga Hartarto, the chief economic minister who had been helming the country’s trade deals, revealed that Jakarta would secure tariff exemptions for its plantation commodities. 

“Crude palm oil, rubber, coffee, and many more,” Airlangga said in Jakarta on Tuesday evening, when asked about the list of tariff-exempt products.

A day earlier, Airlangga had said that Indonesian spare parts would receive the same special treatment. Airlangga had recently spoken to Trump’s trade chief Jamieson Greer to discuss the new tariff proposals during a Paris trip.

Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act allows the US to investigate whether foreign countries have engaged in unfair trading practices that restrict US commerce. The forced labor probe is not the only Section 301 investigation against Indonesia right now. The other probe is on excess industrial capacity in the manufacturing sector. The US will likely unveil the excess capacity tariffs in the coming weeks. 

Airlangga’s aide Susiwijono Moegiarso had told the Jakarta Globe that both of these Section 301 probes could push the final tariff rate on Indonesia to 18%. Indonesian textiles would also likely get a “special mechanism” when entering the US, alluding to tariff reductions.

“These probes are far from done. We have only entered the preliminary report. There is still the rebuttal process before the US makes the final decision,” Susiwijono said.

Indonesia makes up around 89% of the US palm oil supplies, with close neighbor Malaysia supplying the remaining few. 

Indonesian palm oil producers' group Gapki reported that the annual US-bound shipments would hit the 2-million-ton mark. Official statistics reported that Indonesia’s overall exports to the US neared $31 billion in 2025 and had reached almost $10.2 billion from January to April 2026.

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