JAKARTA: Indonesia is seeking an exemption for its palm oil exports from the United States’ new tariffs, imposed under a Section 301 probe into alleged forced labour violations, according to the senior economy minister.
“We are asking for palm oil to be exempted. We are still waiting because the [investigation] is still ongoing [in Washington],” Coordinating Economy Minister Airlangga Hartarto told reporters on Monday, adding that Jakarta’s request was still under review by US authorities.
Indonesia is the world’s largest producer and exporter of crude palm oil.
Airlangga added that the government had requested zero tariffs for several other natural resource commodities.
However, he did so without specifying which products.
US President Donald Trump has brought the new tariffs, ranging from 10% to 12.5%, under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, one of the tools he wielded after the Supreme Court struck down his sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs of 2025 in February.
The US leader imposed his tariffs on July 24, the same day that the temporary, 150-day global 10% tariffs he imposed under Section 122 of the 1974 Trade Act expired.
Airlangga said Indonesia’s position in the US trade probe “was relatively favourable” compared with other trading partners, as the country had been assessed as compliant with Washington’s requirements. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
As a “compliant country”, Indonesia is among the 17 countries subject to a tariff rate of 10%, a group that had been expanded from just six countries initially and includes India, Malaysia and Taiwan.
Noncompliant countries are subject to a rate of 12.5%. According to US Trade Representative documents, the 17 compliant countries are deemed to have policies aimed at preventing goods produced with forced labour from entering American supply chains.
The countries deemed non-compliant include Australia, Singapore and South Korea, alongside China and Hong Kong, all of which Washington alleges of failing to prevent goods made with forced labour from entering the US market.
The Trump administration is also pursuing a separate Section 301 investigation into Indonesia and 15 other economies over excess manufacturing capacity.
Airlangga said Jakarta had submitted its response to US authorities regarding this ongoing probe, without providing details.
The United States is one of Indonesia’s largest export markets and its largest source of non-oil and gas trade surplus, making it a key market for export products ranging from apparel to palm oil and palm oil derivatives.
South-East Asia’s largest economy posted a trade surplus with the United States of around US$7bil in the first five months of 2026, according to Statistics Indonesia.
Johni Martha, the Trade Ministry’s director general of international trade negotiations, said on Monday that market diversification would take time, emphasising that Jakarta had been working to manage the broader impact of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade it signed on Feb 19 with Washington.
“There are no Indonesian products that directly compete with US products, so this [deal] will not create an additional burden. Granting easier access to American goods will not suddenly trigger a massive influx of imports,” Johni said. “Each ministry has a different portfolio, but when it comes to the national interest, we have to strike the right balance,” he added.
