Foreign media: Related to trade agreement, Indonesia rejects US' poison pill clause '

On the evening of the 22nd, Indonesian Minister of Economic Coordination, Elronga, stated after holding talks with US Trade Representative Greer that Indonesia and the United States have reached consensus on all substantive issues of the bilateral trade agreement, and the two presidents will officially sign the agreement by the end of January next year.

The Nikkei Asian Review quoted Elronga as saying that the US has agreed to grant "special tariff exemptions" to Indonesian exports of palm oil, tea, and coffee. In exchange, the United States will acquire key minerals from Indonesia. Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of palm oil and the largest producer of nickel, as well as producing significant amounts of copper, bauxite, and tin. Elronga also revealed that relevant legal and textual details are expected to be clarified within a week. Indonesian President Prabowo will fly to Washington at the end of January next year, where he will jointly sign a bilateral trade agreement with US President Trump.

In April of this year, Trump announced the so-called "Liberation Day" tariffs, setting the tariff rate on Indonesian goods at 32%. In July of this year, Indonesia reached an agreement with the United States to reduce import tariffs on Indonesian goods to 19%, while Indonesia promised to eliminate non-tariff barriers and other measures. Subsequently, the two sides have been negotiating specific details of the agreement, but earlier this month, media reported that the US Indonesia trade agreement may face a breakdown, and Greer had complained that Indonesia had "reneged" on some of its previous commitments.

Last week, the Indonesian government announced the dispatch of Ailanga to the United States for negotiations. Based on its latest statement on Monday evening, there seem to be signs of a turnaround in the US Indonesia trade agreement.

It is worth noting that Elronga explicitly stated that the trade agreement reached with the United States will not restrict Indonesia from reaching trade agreements with other countries. This statement has been interpreted by many media outlets as meaning that the upcoming US Indonesia trade agreement will not include the controversial "poison pill clause".

Previously, trade agreements reached between the United States and Malaysia and Cambodia stipulated that if Malaysia or Cambodia reached a new agreement with a third party that threatened US interests and could not address US demands, the trade agreement between the US and Malaysia or Cambodia would be terminated, and higher tariffs would be imposed on Malaysian or Cambodian goods. Last month, foreign media revealed that Indonesia refused to include a "poison pill clause" in the trade agreement.

At the same time, the US's acquisition of Indonesian mineral resources through the aforementioned trade agreement has also become a focus of attention for all parties. In mid month, the US non-governmental organization "Public Citizen" and the Indonesian environmental organization "Earth Truth" jointly released a report, stating that the US government used tariffs as a threat to force the Indonesian government to reach a so-called "agreement", which may lead to the "disintegration" of Indonesia's efforts to control its own minerals.