Jakarta. A senior minister has signaled that President Prabowo Subianto would meet his American counterpart Donald Trump next year for the signing of a bilateral trade deal, a document which remains under negotiation.

Indonesia and the US are currently negotiating a trade accord as a result of Trump’s Liberation Day tariff scare. Chief Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto admitted Monday that a Prabowo-Trump meeting was in the pipeline, while hinting that it would only take place once the document is ready for signing. Airlangga went on to say that past deals have shown that such documents typically get signed at a leader's level. As work is still underway to finalize the text, chances are quite slim for Prabowo to meet Trump before the year ends.

“We will later arrange a meeting between Mr. President and Mr. Trump. We will see how things go after the discussions [with the US officials], … but we expect [the signing] to take place next year,” Airlangga said in Jakarta. 

Airlangga, who has assumed the role of Jakarta’s chief negotiator, will head to Washington on Wednesday in hopes of making some significant progress. His team has already landed in the US for early discussions. 

Airlangga is expected to meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, whom he had recently spoken to via teleconference. He also claimed that Jakarta had not requested additional US requests beyond what was agreed on in the July agreement. 

“We are still discussing matters related to the legal drafting. … [My target from this US visit is] to wrap things up,” Airlangga said.  

The Indonesian government has repeatedly denied media reports of poison pill provisions causing the discussions to stall. These loyalty clauses oblige Kuala Lumpur to mirror the duties that Washington impose on other countries. The document shows Trump threatening to reimpose tariff hikes if Malaysia enters into a new free trade agreement with a country that jeopardizes essential US interests — a move considered to be targeted at China.

The Liberation Day tariff campaign started with Trump’s dissatisfaction over Washington’s deficits. US official data showed that the goods trade imbalance with Indonesia was close to $18 billion in 2024, putting Jakarta subject to these reciprocal tariffs. Trump initially threatened to slap 32 percent tariffs on Indonesian goods, but later agreed to bring down the import duties to 19 percent, according to a preliminary agreement made in July. Jakata only got the import tax cuts after it agreed to give greater market access for American goods and ease non-tariff barries.

Jakarta is now persuading the Trump government to remove the import tax on palm oil, citing that this agricultural commodity cannot grow on American soil. US-bound Malaysian palm oil already got this zero-tariff treatment. The tariff exemptions on palm oil will be a subject matter in Airlangga's upcoming visit.