Indonesia-US Cooperation to Boost Industrial Exports by Up to 15 Percent
Indonesia-US Cooperation Can Boost National Industrial Exports: BRIN
Oleh - Gusti Panji Alif Pratama
Editor - Lasti Martina
25 Feb 2026
Voice of Indonesia
RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta - Indonesia’s industrial exports to the United States are projected to increase significantly following a bilateral agreement to strengthen trade cooperation, with growth estimated at up to 15 percent.
Senior Researcher at the Center for Macroeconomic and Financial Research at the Indonesian National Agency for Research and Innovation (BRIN), Ragimun, said the agreement provides broader market access for Indonesian products.
He emphasized that domestic industry players must take advantage of the opportunity. “Trade will certainly increase, and Indonesia must maximize these opportunities through alternative products,” Ragimun said in Jakarta on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, as reported by Antara.
He explained that sectors with strong potential include textiles and textile products, footwear, household appliances, crude palm oil, electronics and telecommunications, and rubber products. Exports from these sectors could rise by about 15 percent as market access expands and bilateral trade activity grows.
Ragimun noted that the agreement also carries implications for the national energy sector. In addition to expanding exports, Indonesia has committed to importing energy products from the US.
He said this reflects a strategic shift to strengthen oil and gas supply security while maintaining clean energy partnerships. However, he cautioned that reliance on US fossil fuel imports could pose risks to Indonesia’s energy transition targets.
On February 19, President Prabowo Subianto met US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, for 30 minutes to discuss mutually beneficial trade cooperation.
President Prabowo said the talks focused on long-running negotiations over reciprocal tariffs. “We discussed trade issues between both countries,” he said in a press statement in Washington, DC, on Saturday, February 21, local time.
Indonesia secured a zero percent reciprocal tariff on several leading products, including palm oil, coffee, and cocoa. A total of 1,819 Indonesian products were exempted from tariffs, consisting of 1,695 industrial products and 124 agricultural products under the Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) scheme.
The US has also prepared tariff reductions of up to zero percent for textile products through the Tariff-Rate Quota (TRQ) mechanism. Both countries are encouraging increased investment in high-tech, ICT, medical equipment, and pharmaceutical sectors through adjustments to the Domestic Component Level (TKDN) policy and deregulation.
Indonesia reaffirmed its commitment to implementing Strategic Trade Management to ensure business ecosystem security. The government has also opened investment opportunities by easing foreign ownership restrictions in sectors such as mining and finance, simplifying import licensing, and standardizing agricultural products from the US to support national food security. ***