Government Confirms Indonesia–US ART Will Not Violate National Sovereignty
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia – The government emphasises that the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) is part of an economic diplomacy strategy to strengthen access to export markets for Indonesia’s flagship commodities, while addressing non-tariff barriers that have been highlighted in bilateral trade relations between the two countries.
In a statement, Haryo Limanseto, spokesperson for the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, said that during the ART negotiations with the United States, the government has conducted cross-ministry internal coordination.
The agreement will only take effect after domestic ratification procedures in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, starting with submission to the DPR for ratification if required, or through a Presidential Regulation if ratification by the DPR is not required.
“The agreement will take effect 90 days after both countries have provided written confirmation that all national legal procedures have been completed. Indonesia and the US have also agreed to establish a bilateral consultation mechanism to discuss issues related to ART implementation,” Haryo said, as quoted on Wednesday (4 March 2026).
Regarding the concrete benefits, Hatakanaryo noted that Indonesia is expected to gain significant advantages by securing several crucial items, including 0% tariffs on 1819 tariff lines for agricultural and important industrial products, such as palm oil, coffee, cacao, spices, rubber, electronic components and aircraft components, as well as 0% tariffs for textiles and apparel from Indonesia. This will bring tangible benefits to more than 4 million workers in the sector.
Furthermore, the agreement does not conflict with Indonesia’s foreign policy principles of a free and active foreign policy. Indonesia remains committed to a free and active foreign policy, not bound to any power bloc, and retains full sovereignty to determine national policy. It will also continue to engage economically with various trading partners through bilateral, regional, and multilateral agreements.
In its implementation, the government emphasises that ART provisions will respect sovereignty and the national legal process in Indonesia, and there is no automatic or unilateral obligation for Indonesia to adopt US policies in the future. The commitments agreed by both sides are of a coordinating nature and encourage alignment, with every decision still subject to domestic processes and guided by national law and Indonesia’s constitutional framework.
Additionally, both sides have equal rights to terminate the agreement through written notice after consultations, so the overall ART arrangement remains within the sovereignty and national interests of Indonesia.
Domestic political dynamics in the United States, including developments in the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS), have been part of the considerations in the ART process. The decision to sign ART is a strategic step to anticipate uncertainty in US tariff policy, given that tariffs remain a principal instrument of its trade policy and could still be used under various legal bases beyond the IEEPA.
Going forward, Haryo said that the government and the US still have a number of other legal instruments to impose tariffs, and plan to start various investigations into the trade practices of partner countries. In this context, Indonesia’s position is more manageable and measured because issues that could become objects of investigations have been negotiated and agreed earlier within the ART framework.
“Pemerintah Indonesia tentunya akan terus cermat mengamati situasi geopolitik global dan berhati-hati dalam melanjutkan proses yang dibutuhkan untuk mengimplementasikan ART,” concluded Haryo.
(haa/haa)