Jakarta. The US government shutdown has caused Washington’s trade deal negotiations with Indonesia to stall, according to Jakarta’s chief negotiator Airlangga Hartarto, as the Southeast Asian nation tries to get its palm oil exempted from tariffs.

Indonesian goods are now subject to 19 percent tariffs when entering American soil under a deal that US President Donald Trump called “historic”. Both countries are now finalizing a document aimed at making the new tariffs more official. As the negotiations get underway, Indonesia also hopes to include a provision that saves its palm oil from duties. However, Jakarta revealed that the US government shutdown, which had stretched into its sixth day, had prevented the American negotiators from continuing the talks.

“The shutdown has put the negotiations to a temporary halt. But I will speak with US Trade Representative [Jamieson Greer] tonight to discuss the next steps. … But then again, we can’t give you a timeframe because of the shutdown, although we will keep an eye on the developments,” senior minister Airlangga told the press in Jakarta on Tuesday. 

“We are at the legal scrubbing stage. What I can say is this upcoming document will be much more detailed compared to [the joint statement] announced back [in late July].”

It remains unclear whether the countries would have their leaders sign the document. President Prabowo Subianto not long ago met Trump in person during the UN General Assembly’s annual high-level session. While the two were seen briefly conversing on the margins of the forum, they did not hold official bilateral talks during the New York visit. Both presidents gathered with several Arab leaders to discuss the Gaza crisis.

A joint statement issued by the White House back in July showed that Indonesia had made some major concessions to appease Trump’s tariff wrath over trade imbalances. For instance, Jakarta agreed to get rid 99 percent of its tariff barriers for a “full range of” American industrial and agri-food products. The Southeast Asian country made multi-billion-dollar import pledges. Indonesia promised to procure $3.2 billion worth of aircraft and some $4.5 billion agricultural products. The deal includes $15 billion in purchases of American energy. 

Indonesian exports are beginning to feel the impact of Trump’s tariffs. According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), Indonesia’s US-bound exports only reached $2.72 billion in August, marking a 12.39 percent monthly drop. Still, the US remained a huge driver of Indonesia’s surplus as the positive trade balance with Washington totaled $12.2 billion between January and August 2025.

The shutdown occurred after American lawmakers failed to pass a bill funding government services into October and beyond. This has put some government services into a halt, even sending around 750,000 people on unpaid leave.