Halal provisions in US-Indonesia trade deal draw pushback


US President Donald Trump with Indonesia President Prabowo Subianto at the “Board of Peace“ meeting during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Jan 22, 2026. - AFP

JAKARTA: The recently signed trade deal between Indonesia and the United States has drawn criticism from lawmakers and Islamic leaders, who have warned that exemptions for certain US products and the recognition of foreign halal certification agencies could weaken national halal standards.

President Prabowo Subianto and his US counterpart Donald Trump signed the US-Indonesia Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) on Thursday (Feb 19) in Washington, after long negotiations to revise tariffs and nontariff measures to boost bilateral trade.

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