Airlangga Raises Critical Mineral Access in Tariff Agreement with the US
President Prabowo Subianto and US President Donald Trump have signed the Agreement of Reciprocal Trade (ART). The United States has decided to maintain a reciprocal tariff of 19 per cent on imports from Indonesia, except for certain products which will receive a zero per cent reciprocal tariff rate. This represents a reduction from the previous reciprocal tariff of 32 per cent.
Speaking at a press conference following the signing of the Indonesia-United States Reciprocal Trade Agreement on Friday (20 February 2026), Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the critical minerals sector had not been overlooked as part of the agreement.
"Indonesia is open to investment cooperation as well as technology sharing, both for critical minerals and rare earth elements," Airlangga stated.
He explained that the critical minerals in question are industrial minerals with secondary processing. Beyond copper, other critical minerals that the United States could potentially access include nickel, bauxite, and rare earth metals.
"They need that access because it is for the automotive industry, aircraft, rockets, and military defence equipment," Airlangga said.
Regarding rare earth minerals specifically, Airlangga noted that these are still in the development stage and are a by-product of tin mining.
The Indonesian Investment Management Agency (BPI) Danantara has been conducting discussions with the United States regarding access to critical minerals. Danantara's role in this matter is on a business-to-business basis, facilitating and bridging direct cooperation between Indonesian companies and US companies interested in investing in the critical minerals sector.
As part of the agreement, Indonesia agreed to eliminate tariff barriers on more than 99 per cent of US products exported to Indonesia across all sectors, including agriculture, health products, seafood, information technology, automotive products, and chemicals. Indonesia also committed to withdrawing export restrictions to the United States for all industrial commodities, including critical minerals.
In addition to the critical minerals component, the United States has committed to assisting with the development of nuclear power plants as a source of clean energy. Airlangga said Indonesia is open to cooperation in the use of small modular reactor (SMR) technology.
Speaking at a press conference following the signing of the Indonesia-United States Reciprocal Trade Agreement on Friday (20 February 2026), Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said the critical minerals sector had not been overlooked as part of the agreement.
"Indonesia is open to investment cooperation as well as technology sharing, both for critical minerals and rare earth elements," Airlangga stated.
He explained that the critical minerals in question are industrial minerals with secondary processing. Beyond copper, other critical minerals that the United States could potentially access include nickel, bauxite, and rare earth metals.
"They need that access because it is for the automotive industry, aircraft, rockets, and military defence equipment," Airlangga said.
Regarding rare earth minerals specifically, Airlangga noted that these are still in the development stage and are a by-product of tin mining.
The Indonesian Investment Management Agency (BPI) Danantara has been conducting discussions with the United States regarding access to critical minerals. Danantara's role in this matter is on a business-to-business basis, facilitating and bridging direct cooperation between Indonesian companies and US companies interested in investing in the critical minerals sector.
As part of the agreement, Indonesia agreed to eliminate tariff barriers on more than 99 per cent of US products exported to Indonesia across all sectors, including agriculture, health products, seafood, information technology, automotive products, and chemicals. Indonesia also committed to withdrawing export restrictions to the United States for all industrial commodities, including critical minerals.
In addition to the critical minerals component, the United States has committed to assisting with the development of nuclear power plants as a source of clean energy. Airlangga said Indonesia is open to cooperation in the use of small modular reactor (SMR) technology.