Jakarta. The US tariff blitz will provide an impetus to Indonesia’s ongoing trade deal negotiations with Eurasia, according to Russia’s First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov on Monday.

Indonesia has been wanting to seal a free trade agreement (FTA) with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) as it searches for untapped export destinations. At the same time, Southeast Asia’s largest economy -- like many countries around the world -- is dealing with US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. 

Early this month, Trump announced he would slap tariffs on nearly all US trading partners at varying rates with Indonesia getting a 32 percent import duty. Trump exempts Russia from the tariff salvo as Western sanctions from the Russo-Ukraine war have stripped Moscow from having meaningful trade with Washington. 

The EAEU club brings together Russia and four post-Soviet states: Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Belarus. It has been negotiating the FTA with Indonesia in late 2022, although the initial goal was to wrap up the talks within two years since it began. Speaking to reporters in Jakarta, Russia’s Manturov said that both sides were getting closer to reaching an agreement as the newly announced Trump tariffs could add speed to the negotiations.

“It is progressing. I hope it gets signed by the end of the year. You know with US’ new tariffs, which are very high, I think it will give an additional impetus to fasten up [the Indonesia-EAEU FTA negotiations] and make it happen by the end of the year,” Manturov told reporters on the margins of a business forum.

Indonesia, too, considers the EAEU trade pact as a way to cushion the Trump tariff blow on its economy. Data shows that the EAEU is a $2.5 trillion economy and makes up 2.5 percent of the global trade. 

Senior minister Airlangga Hartarto said that Indonesia would still need to do one last round of negotiations with the EAEU. He revealed that President Prabowo Subianto wanted Indonesia to finish all of the pact’s provisions within the first half of 2025. The document will then get a “legal scrub” in which lawyers will make sure that the text is sound and accurate -- a process that Airlangga admitted could take long. 

“The FTA will address tariffs, non-tariff barriers, investment guarantee,” Airlangga said.

Official government figures showed Indonesia-EAEU trade totaled $3.8 billion in 2023. Indonesia imported $2.7 billion that year with Jakarta mainly buying coal and fertilizers from the Eurasian bloc. Palm oil, copra, and television equipment were Indonesia’s top exported goods to the EAEU. 

Like Russia, EAEU member Belarus is safe from Trump’s reciprocal tariffs. Kyrgyzstan and Armenia, on the other hand, get the 10 percent baseline tariff, while the rate reaches 27 percent for Kazakhstan. 

The reciprocal tariffs were supposed to kick in on April 9, but Trump had decided to suspend its entry into force for 90 days. However, Trump’s universal 10 percent is now already in effect. 

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