Jakarta. Indonesia has signaled US tariff exemptions for its exports of spare parts and plantation commodities, as the clock ticks on Washington’s trade move.

The Donald Trump administration has proposed new tariffs of 10% on Indonesian goods after accusing Jakarta of failing to stop inflows of goods made by forced labor. The levies will replace the 10% tariffs that are set to end on July 24. The final rate can even go higher, as Jakarta awaits a separate US probe into structural excess capacity in its manufacturing sector. 

Chief Economic Minister Airlangga Hartarto confirmed Monday that some Indonesian exports would be able to bypass these looming tariffs.

“[The exemptions] are for several commodities produced in Indonesia, including plantation commodities and even spare parts,” Airlangga told reporters in his office on Monday.

He did not say if the exemptions would cover crude palm oil.

Airlangga had just flown home from a Paris trip where he met Trump’s trade chief, Jamieson Greer.

Jakarta expects that the two probes -- on forced labor and excess capacity -- would ultimately push the levies to 18%. Greer is set to release the findings of the second probe in the coming weeks.

Asked about the final rate, Airlangga only replied: "The investigation is still ongoing." 

His aide Susiwijono Moegiarso told the Jakarta Globe that Washington had committed to “exempting several product posts [from the tariffs] based on a mutual agreement”, commenting on the Paris talks. This includes a “special mechanism” for Indonesian textiles. A statement by Greer’s office suggested that this could mean tariff cuts “for a certain volume” of textile imports. 

Trade Minister Budi Santoso dismissed worries over the latest tariff salvo.

“We recorded the biggest surplus with the US. Our positive trade balance hit around $18.1 billion in 2025. Exports are even on the rise despite the reciprocal tariffs,” Budi said.

Indonesia’s US-bound exports soared from $26.5 billion (2024) to nearly $31 billion (2025), the government data showed. Exports in the first four months of 2026 hit almost $10.2 billion. 

The “reciprocal tariffs” were Trump’s first major trade protectionist move in his second term, and the originally threatened rate hanging over Indonesia reached 32%. Jakarta notched a deal with the US in February, which cut the rate to 19% after heaps of concessions. The Supreme Court, however, declared that Trump did not have the power to impose these reciprocal tariffs. Trump quickly introduced a temporary 10% import tax and ordered two unfair trade practice investigations into Indonesia to keep his tariff regime alive.

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