Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto, recently shared that President Prabowo Subianto played a direct role in the negotiations for trade tariff revisions following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of “Liberation Day” on April 2, 2025. President Prabowo, being actively engaged, instructed the inter-ministerial negotiation team to send a formal letter to the White House promptly after Trump’s declaration. Airlangga emphasized that Indonesia was the first country to provide an official response to Washington, D.C.
During a video interview on Real Talk with Uni Lubis, Airlangga revealed that aside from responding to President Trump’s announcement, the negotiation team was also concurrently involved in trade discussions with the OECD and the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA). President Prabowo personally guided the team to develop a trade package tailored specifically for the United States, aligning with ongoing negotiations with the OECD and IEU-CEPA.
With Indonesia’s trade documentation and package meeting compliance standards, the country successfully lowered its export tariffs to the U.S. from 32% to 19%. Airlangga met with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and engaged in virtual meetings with other U.S. officials to ensure compliance and discuss offers. The decisive moment in finalizing the deal came during a phone conversation between Presidents Prabowo and Trump, where they agreed on reducing tariffs to 19%.
Ultimately, both sides reported to their respective presidents, confirming the resolution of negotiations and the tariff reduction decision. President Prabowo even shared a clip of the phone call on his official Instagram account, solidifying the successful outcome of the trade negotiations.
