Trump says U.S. will get market access in Indonesia, island country knocks down tariff

President Trump said Tuesday he struck a trade agreement with Indonesia, the world’s fourth-most populous country, as his team assigns nation-by-nation tariff amounts alongside negotiations.

Mr. Trump said the U.S. will be able to tap into Indonesia’s consumer markets with no levies on the goods it sends to the Southeast Asian nation.

“We have full access to Indonesia, everything. We will pay no tariffs,” Mr. Trump told White House reporters on the South Lawn.

Mr. Trump had threatened to impose a 32% tariff on goods Indonesia sends into the U.S. Instead, under the deal, the U.S. will charge a 19% tariff on Indonesian imports.

“I think it’s a good deal for both parties,” Mr. Trump said.

The pact is a sign that Mr. Trump’s negotiators are willing to adjust proposed tariffs so long as countries present a suitable deal by Aug. 1.

More difficult negotiations are ahead, however, notably with the European Union, a major trading bloc that accounted for nearly $1 trillion in trade with the U.S. in 2024.

The U.S. trade deficit with Indonesia was $17.9 billion in 2024, meaning the Asian country of 285 million people sold a far higher dollar amount of goods to U.S. consumers than it bought from American producers.

All told, the U.S. did about $38 billion worth of trade with Indonesia last year, putting it at No. 23 in a ranking of countries with the most two-way trade with the U.S. — nestled between Spain and Israel.

Mr. Trump, writing on Truth Social, said he negotiated directly with “highly respected” President Prabowo Subianto of Indonesia.

He said Indonesia committed to buying $15 billion worth of U.S. energy, $4.5 billion in American farm products and 50 Boeing aircraft.

“This landmark Deal opens up Indonesia’s ENTIRE MARKET to the United States for the first time in History,” Mr. Trump wrote. “For the first time ever, our Ranchers, Farmers, and Fishermen will have Complete and Total Access to the Indonesian Market of over 280 million people.”

Mr. Trump is assigning tariffs on a country-by-country basis. He’s sent letters to 24 countries, plus the European Union bloc, this month. The tariffs are set to take effect on Aug. 1 unless negotiators can strike a different deal.

The new tariffs range from 25% to 50% and include high levies on key trading partners, including 35% on goods from Canada, 30% apiece on Mexico and the EU.

Mr. Trump said Tuesday his team is still talking to EU negotiators.

Brazil faces a whopping 50% tariff on its goods, even though the U.S. has a trade surplus with the South American country. Mr. Trump is angry, in part, over Brazil’s prosecution of ex-President Jair Bolsonaro.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chamber of Commerce in Brazil (AmCham Brazil) on Tuesday urged the Trump administration to engage in high-level negotiations to avoid the “damaging” tariffs in August.

“Imposing such measures in response to broader political tensions risks inflicting real harm on one of America’s most important economic relationships and sets a troubling precedent,” the groups said in a joint statement.