Indonesia to Fight For Zero Tariffs on Palm Oil in This Week’s US Trade Talks
17/12/2025 (Jakarta Globe), Jakarta - Indonesia’s chief negotiator Airlangga Hartarto recently said that he would fight for tariff cuts on palm oil in an upcoming round of trade talks with US officials, as Washington has already rolled back on its cocoa import tax.
Senior minister Airlangga has reconfirmed his plans to meet US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in Washington later this week. Speaking to the Jakarta-based press on Tuesday evening, Airlangga admitted that he would be the only Indonesian minister participating in the discussions.
He went on to say that Jakarta would pursue zero tariffs on palm oil — something that Malaysia already got in a trade deal struck in October. Jakarta initially had been nudging the Washington into drop the tariffs on cocoa, citing the latter’s inability to grow sufficient amount of the commodity in its own soil. But just last month, US President Donald Trump inked an executive order that exempted cocoa, alongside hundreds of other agricultural products, from the reciprocal tariffs amidst Americans’ concerns over the high costs of groceries.
“The tariff [reductions] on our palm oil are indeed something that we will discuss. Malaysia already has it. The US already has an executive order [that frees] cocoa [from the reciprocal tariffs]. But the [import tax] on palm oil needs to be discussed bilaterally,” Airlangga said.
Indonesia is the world’s largest supplier of palm oil alongside Malaysia. The Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) reported that Jakarta had a huge lead in US-bound exports compared to Kuala Lumpur. Between January and October 2025, Indonesia exported nearly $1.8 billion worth of animal or vegetable fats and oils, according to the Trade Ministry. Palm oil falls within this sub-category.
Trump’s 19% tariffs on Indonesian goods officially entered into force in August, although the rate was lower than the 32% tax that Trump had originally intended. Airlangga revealed that the upcoming discussions would not revolve around tariffs on footwear and textiles — despite being Jakarta’s main exports to the US.
“The tariffs [on footwear and textiles] will remain the same at 19 percent,” Airlangga said.
Airlangga had repeatedly said that the ongoing talks with the US was part of the so-called "legal drafting" process. In other words, both governments are currently putting together a document to be signed by President Prabowo and Trump next year.