Prabowo on US Reciprocal Tariffs: National Interests Cannot Be Compromised

President Prabowo Subianto has emphasised that he will never compromise national interests in any policy decisions, including the trade agreement between Indonesia and the United States via the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART). According to Prabowo, the entire content of the agreement underwent thorough considerations before being approved by the government, particularly regarding the tariff reduction from 32 per cent to 19 per cent. “You must believe that I prioritise Indonesia’s national interests. If I assess that our national interests are threatened by any agreement, then we can abandon it,” Prabowo stated in his official remarks on Sunday, 22 March 2026. He also affirmed that Indonesia received special treatment from US President Donald Trump. The government, he said, retains room for negotiation if the agreement is deemed detrimental. “In yesterday’s agreement, we agreed that if there are matters unsatisfactory to either party or contrary to our interests, adjustment clauses will be made,” he explained. Prabowo noted that this privilege is not possessed by other countries in similar agreements with the United States. “As far as I know, clauses like this do not exist in agreements with other countries,” he added. Furthermore, Prabowo assessed that Indonesia gains significant advantages from this deal. As many as 1,819 national strategic commodities, such as coffee and palm oil, receive zero per cent tariffs. “In this agreement, there are 1,819 of our commodities with zero per cent tariffs. This is certainly beneficial,” he said. Regarding the possibility of Indonesia following Malaysia’s step to cancel its trade agreement with the US, Prabowo stressed that the government will act rationally and prioritise national gains. “We will certainly seek what is beneficial, not the opposite,” he concluded.