The US-ASEAN Business Council (USABC) revealed that a group of Indonesian and US companies signed economic cooperation agreements worth over $7 billion USD (approximately 218 billion baht) just one day before Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto was scheduled to meet with President Donald Trump to sign a comprehensive trade agreement.
The signing ceremony took place during a dinner honoring President Prabowo, organized by the US Chamber of Commerce. Key points of the agreement include food security and agricultural products. Indonesia agreed to purchase massive quantities of US agricultural goods, including 1 million metric tons of soybeans (valued at $685 million), 1.6 million metric tons of corn, 93,000 tons of cotton (valued at $122 million). For wheat, Indonesia aims to purchase 1 million tons this year and expand to 5 million tons by 2030 (valued at approximately $1.25 billion). The agreement also covers importing used clothing scraps for recycling (valued at $200 million), processed wood, and furniture products.
US mining giant Freeport-McMoRan signed a memorandum of understanding with Indonesia’s Ministry of Investment to collaborate on key minerals. They preliminarily agreed to extend mining licenses beyond 2041 to conduct long-term exploration and resource expansion.
Indonesia’s state oil producer Pertamina signed a cooperation agreement with US oilfield services company Halliburton to collaborate on restoring and improving oil drilling sites.
The agreement also includes two joint ventures in the semiconductor sector. One is valued at $4.89 billion USD by Essence Global Group, while the other is an undisclosed-value joint venture involving Tynergy Technology Group.
President Prabowo stated these agreements are part of the implementation of trade cooperation that will be signed with President Trump on Thursday. He expressed confidence that the large purchases and investments will help reduce Indonesia’s trade deficit with the US and said, “I look to the future of our relationship with great confidence.”
The Indonesian leader traveled to Washington, D.C. to attend President Trump’s Board of Peace meeting. He hopes to negotiate a reduction in import tariffs from 19% to 18%, as agreed last year, to match the rates the US granted India in early February.
/sourceReuters