FTA with US ‘unlikely’ but nickel deal attainable

Trade tensions: A worker in action at a battery manufacturing plant in West Java. Indonesia exports most of its nickel to China but sees the United States, home to EV giant Tesla, as a promising alternative market for the key battery material. — AFP

JAKARTA: The re-election of Donald Trump as United States president may complicate talks with Indonesia about a free-trade agreement (FTA), but such a deal may not be the only way to open the US market for Indonesian nickel, experts believe.

Securing an FTA focused on critical minerals, something Jakarta has long sought from Washington, may only get harder as the incoming administration is set to double down on tariff barriers.