Airlangga Proposes Palm Oil Exemption from US 10% Tariff, Other Commodities Await USTR Decision

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto revealed that the government is working to secure an exemption from the additional 10 per cent tariff imposed by the United States for palm oil and a number of Indonesian export commodities.

According to Airlangga, discussions on the tariff exemption are still ongoing, in tandem with the investigation being carried out by the US government under the Section 301 mechanism. Indonesia, he said, is now in the group of countries deemed to have met compliance standards on the issue of forced labour.

“If we refer to Section 301, on forced labour it has indeed been announced that Indonesia is relatively compliant compared to other countries. Initially it was part of a group of six out of 60 countries, but according to the latest count, those six countries have risen to 17. Regarding palm oil, we are currently requesting that it be exempted,” Airlangga told journalists at his office on Monday, 27 July 2026.

The Government Pushes for Palm Oil to Be Free of Additional Tariffs

Airlangga said the government continues to communicate so that palm oil becomes one of the commodities not subject to the additional 10 per cent tariff by the United States.

According to him, Indonesia’s position on the list of countries deemed to comply with forced labour provisions is one of its bargaining chips in the negotiation process.

Nevertheless, the final decision remains in the hands of the US government through the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

Other Commodities Still Awaiting the USTR Decision

When asked about the possibility of other commodities receiving exemptions besides palm oil, Airlangga could not yet provide certainty.

He explained that the list of commodities freed from the additional tariff still depends on the results of the investigation and the official decision from the USTR.

“Our tariff — this is still under investigation under Section 301. So it depends on the decision from there. There are quite a lot of commodities, especially those based on Indonesia’s natural resources,” he said.

Although he hinted that several other commodities could potentially receive similar treatment, Airlangga did not detail the list of products.

USTR Document Mentions a Number of Indonesian Products Exempted

Previously, attention was drawn to the Annex II Part L document issued by the USTR. The document states that the additional 10 per cent tariff does not apply to a number of products originating from Indonesia listed in the Harmonized System (HS) codes.