The agreement was originally facilitated after the Trump administration threatened to impose high tariffs on more than 20 trade partners. As a condition for reducing potential tariffs from 32% to 19%, Jakarta agreed to significantly cut tariffs on U.S. products, purchase U.S. aircraft and energy products, and relax local content requirements for U.S. company investments. However, these terms sparked backlash within Indonesia's business community, who believed that easing local content regulations would weaken competitiveness. Additionally, the Indonesian government opposed the U.S.-driven mandatory clauses related to "competing with China," citing that they violated economic sovereignty. U.S. officials will again negotiate with Jakarta this week in an attempt to salvage this deal on the verge of collapse.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1851093161808907/
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