Trade Minister: I-EU CEPA to be agreement with highest tariff commitments
For Indonesia, the level of tariff commitment is the highest ever granted in a trade agreement.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Trade Minister Budi Santoso said the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (I-EU CEPA) will become a trade agreement with the highest level of tariff commitments ever given by Indonesia.
During the Dialogue on Preparation for the Implementation of I-EU CEPA at the Office of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs in Jakarta on Friday, Budi said this provides greater opportunities for Indonesian products to enter the European Union market with more competitive tariffs.
“For Indonesia, the level of tariff commitment is the highest ever granted in a trade agreement,” Budi said in a statement in Jakarta on Friday.
Budi said the I-EU CEPA will liberalise around 98 percent of tariff lines for both parties, covering around 99.5 percent of total import value.
According to him, this level of liberalisation provides greater opportunities for Indonesian products to enter the European Union market with more competitive tariffs.
A number of Indonesia’s main export products, such as palm oil and its derivatives, textiles, footwear, and rubber products, will obtain zero percent tariffs from the time the agreement enters into force.
On the other hand, a number of leading European Union products that will receive zero percent tariffs include wood pulp, aircraft and their components, trains and their components, and fertilisers.
Budi assessed that the I-EU CEPA will become a new momentum to expand the market for Indonesian products in Europe, encourage investment especially in strategic sectors, improve Indonesia’s position in the global supply chain, and strengthen a mutually beneficial economic partnership between Indonesia and the European Union.
The agreement is also designed to improve the efficiency of trade procedures to provide better business certainty for business actors.
The scope of the I-EU CEPA also includes digitalisation, acceleration of customs processes, cooperation in the field of standards, as well as sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
In addition, there is cooperation and capacity building in various sectors, including providing greater certainty on a number of new issues such as state-owned enterprises and sustainability/environmental issues.
Currently, the Ministry of Trade is coordinating across ministries and institutions to complete legal documents, align domestic regulations, and ensure technical readiness for the implementation of the agreement.
The I-EU CEPA is Indonesia’s most modern and comprehensive trade agreement. For Indonesian business actors, the I-EU CEPA opens access to the European Union market covering around 450 million consumers with a combined gross domestic product of around 22 trillion US dollars.
Negotiations on the I-EU CEPA began in 2016 and reached a substantial agreement in September 2025.
Currently, both parties are completing internal procedures and targeting the signing of the agreement in the fourth quarter of 2026, followed by the ratification process by the respective parliaments and then immediately beginning implementation.