Indonesian and North American companies signed agreements valued at more than US$7 billion this Wednesday (18), one day before the meeting between Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto and United States President Donald Trump to sign the final trade pact, reported the USABC (US-ASEAN Business Council).
The agreements, signed at a dinner hosted for Prabowo by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, include purchases by Indonesian companies of 1 million metric tons of American soybeans, 1.6 million tons of corn and 93,000 tons of cotton, over unspecified periods, according to a USABC fact sheet.
The report also adds that Indonesia will buy 1 million tons of wheat this year and up to 5 million tons by 2030.
The agreements include a memorandum of understanding between US mining group Freeport-McMoRan and Indonesia’s Ministry of Investment for cooperation in , and an agreement between state oil producer Pertamina and Halliburton Co to cooperate in oil field reclamation, USABC said.
Freeport and the Ministry of Investment have signed an initial agreement to extend its mining license beyond 2041, Freeport-McMoRan President Richard Adkerson said at the dinner.
“This is a resource expansion journey, and we can’t wait to drill to define what this ore body will look like in the coming decades,” he said.
The agreements also include two joint venture in the semiconductor sector, one valued at US$4.89 billion between Essence Global Group and an Indonesian partner, and another, whose value was not disclosed, involving Tynergy Technology Group.
USABC valued Indonesia’s purchases at $685 million of soybeans, $1.25 billion of wheat, $122 million of cotton, and an additional purchase of shredded used clothing from the US for recycling at $200 million.
In the decade from 2015 to 2024, Indonesia annually imported, on average, 2.3 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans, nearly 800,000 tons of wheat, about 180,000 tons of cotton and less than 100,000 tons of corn, according to trade data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
In recent years, the Southeast Asian country has imported about $3 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products annually, making it the 11th largest market for all U.S. agricultural products.
Not all deals had their prices disclosed, and this included Indonesian purchases of US timber and furniture.
Indonesia in July announced a series of trade deals with the US worth $34 billion as part of its tariff negotiations, including wheat and soy import deals similar to those signed on Wednesday.
Prabowo stated during the dinner that the agreements were part of those he should sign this Thursday (19) with Trump.
He said these measures would help reduce Indonesia’s trade surplus with the US, adding: “I am very optimistic about the future of our relationship.”
The Indonesian leader arrived in Washington this week for the , hoping that Jakarta will achieve a slight tariff reduction, from 19% to 18%, as agreed last year. .
In his speech at the dinner, Deputy US Trade Representative Rick Switzer did not mention the final tariff rate for Indonesia, but said the Reciprocal Trade Agreement between the two democracies “will mean more trade – bilateral trade. It will mean more investment. It will mean deeper and more comprehensive economic, investment and trade ties.”
