France’s President Emmanuel Macron (R) and Indonesia’s President Prabowo Subianto (L) take part in a welcome ceremony. This was during a visit at the Military Academy in Magelang, Central Java on May 29, 2025. (Photo by JEANNE ACCORSINI / POOL / AFP)
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesia and the European Union are expected to conclude talks over an economic cooperation deal that will relax trade barriers this month. Jakarta’s top economic minister said so on Saturday.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy and the 27-member European bloc have been negotiating since 2016. The goal is to strike a deal that is expected to increase trade and investment.
Ties have been frayed by a proposed import ban on products linked to deforestation into the EU. This has angered Indonesia because it is a major palm oil exporter.
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However, Jakarta’s chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto told an online briefing on Saturday that talks were nearing their conclusion.
“We already have entered the final round. This means that we have resolved almost all issues,” Airlangga told reporters.
He said in an earlier statement Indonesia and the EU would announce the conclusion of the negotiations by the end of June.
Airlangga did not disclose any agreements that would be part of the deal.
Trade talks go through legal drafting process
He said the next step was a legal drafting process. This will be completed in a “short time” before the two parties could ratify the agreement.
One of the main points of the agreement is the eradication of non-tariff barriers and the lowering of tariffs to make their markets more accessible to the other, Airlangga said.
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“A strategic advantage for Indonesia is the opening of the European market which has so far been subject to relatively higher tariffs and import duties compared to our neighboring countries,” he said.
The EU will also give “special treatment” to Indonesia on its top exports. This potentially includes forestry products, Airlangga said without elaborating.
The European bloc is Indonesia’s fifth-largest trading partner with bilateral trade between them reaching $30.1 billion last year. This is according to Airlangga’s statement.