Indonesia continues negotiations with US in bid for zero tariffs
ISMI DAMAYANTI and REZHA HADYAN
JAKARTA - Indonesia is continuing to negotiate with Washington for lower tariffs despite U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement this week of a 19% rate for the Southeast Asian country, amid a lack of clarity over details.
"The list of items under negotiation is long, and we are hoping for a 0% tariff," Susiwijono Moegiarso, secretary of the coordinating ministry for the economy, told reporters on Friday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
29 minutes ago
- Japan Today
Trump will reveal ‘AI Action Plan' shaped by his Silicon Valley supporters
President Donald Trump speaks during a reception for Republican members of Congress in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, July 22, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson) By The Associated Press An artificial intelligence agenda formed on the podcasts of Silicon Valley billionaires is now being set into U.S. policy as President Donald Trump leans on the ideas of the tech figures who backed his election campaign. Trump plans on Wednesday to reveal an 'AI Action Plan' he ordered after revoking President Joe Biden's signature AI guardrails. The plan and related executive orders are expected to include some familiar tech lobby pitches: accelerating the sale of AI technology abroad and making it easier to construct the energy-hungry data center buildings that are needed to form and run AI products, according to a person briefed on Wednesday's event who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. It might also include some of the AI culture war preoccupations of the circle of venture capitalists who endorsed Trump last year. Here's the latest: The tech industry has pushed for easier permitting to get huge data centers connected to power and water — even if it means consumers losing drinking water and paying higher energy bills. On Tuesday, 95 groups including labor unions, parent groups, environmental justice organizations and privacy advocates signed a resolution opposing Trump's embrace of industry-driven AI policy and calling for a 'People's AI Action Plan' that would 'deliver first and foremost for the American people.' Amba Kak, co-executive director of the AI Now Institute, which helped lead the effort, said the coalition expects Trump's plan to come 'straight from Big Tech's mouth.' 'Every time we say, 'What about our jobs, our air, water, our children?' they're going to say, 'But what about China?'' she said Tuesday. She said Americans should reject the White House's argument that artificial intelligence is overregulated, and fight to preserve 'baseline protections for the public.' Sacks, a former PayPal executive and now Trump's top AI adviser, has been criticizing 'woke AI' for more than a year, fueled by Google's February 2024 rollout of an AI image generator that, when asked to show an American Founding Father, created pictures of Black, Asian and Native American men. Google quickly fixed its tool, but the 'Black George Washington' moment remained a parable for the problem of AI's perceived political bias, taken up by X owner Elon Musk, venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, Vice President JD Vance and Republican lawmakers. 'The AI's incapable of giving you accurate answers because it's been so programmed with diversity and inclusion,' Sacks said at the time. Elon Musk's xAI, pitched as an alternative to 'woke AI' companies, had to scramble this month to remove posts made by its Grok chatbot that made antisemitic comments and praised Adolf Hitler. The All-In Podcast is a business and technology show hosted by four tech investors and entrepreneurs including Trump's AI czar, David Sacks. The plan and related executive orders to be announced late Wednesday afternoon are expected to include some familiar tech lobby pitches — including accelerating the sale of AI technology abroad and making it easier to construct the energy-hungry data center buildings needed to run AI products, according to a person briefed on Wednesday's event who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. It might also include some of the AI culture war preoccupations of the circle of venture capitalists who endorsed Trump last year. ▶ Read more on Trump's Artificial Intelligence plan Global shares rallied on Wednesday, with Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index gaining 3.5% after Japan and the U.S. announced a deal on Trump's tariffs. The tariff agreement as announced calls for a 15% U.S. import duty on goods from Japan, apart from certain products such as steel and aluminum that are subject to much higher tariffs. That's down from the 25% Trump had said would kick in on Aug. 1 if a deal was not reached. 'This Deal will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs — There has never been anything like it,' Trump posted on Truth Social, noting that Japan was also investing 'at my direction' $550 billion into the U.S. He said Japan would 'open' its economy to American autos and rice. Trump announced the U.S. will place a 19% tax on goods from Indonesia and the Philippines. A senior Trump official said Indonesia will charge no tariffs on 99% of its trade with the United States and drop its nontariff barriers on U.S. goods. Trump said the U.S. won't pay any tariffs in the Philippines, but they will pay 19%. 'President Trump has signed two trade deals this week with the Philippines and Japan which is likely to keep market sentiment propped up despite deals with the likes of the EU and South Korea remaining elusive, for now at least,' Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at Kohle Capital Markets, said in a report. House Speaker Mike Johnson rebuffed pressure to act on the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, instead sending members home early on Wednesday for a month-long break from Washington after the week's legislative agenda was upended by Republican members who are clamoring for a vote. 'There's no purpose for the Congress to push an administration to do something they're already doing,' Johnson said at his last weekly news conference. The speaker's stance did little to alleviate the intra-party turmoil unfolding on Capitol Hill as many of Trump's supporters demand that the administration meet its promises to publicly release a full accounting of the sex trafficking investigation into Epstein, who killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Under pressure from right-wing online influencers, as well as voters back home, rank-and-file Republicans are demanding House intervention. 'The public's not going to let this die, and rightfully so,' said Rep. Ralph Norman, a South Carolina Republican. The president told congressional Republicans at a Tuesday night dinner that European Union officials will be in town Wednesday for the talks. 'We have Europe coming in tomorrow, the next day,' Trump said after announcing a trade framework with Japan. The president sent a letter this month threatening the 27 EU member states with 30% tariffs to be imposed starting Aug. 1. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
US pushes talks with other partners after Japan deal
With his tariff deadline approaching on August 1, US President Donald Trump is stepping up pressure on other trading partners to build momentum for talks. This comes after he announced a "massive" deal with Japan on Tuesday. Trump posted on social media on Wednesday that the agreement was reached because of "Tariff Power." He said Japan agreed to open its markets "for the first time ever." A photo posted by a White House official shows the negotiations on Tuesday. Trump is holding a board with the words "Japan Invest America." The figure "400 billion dollars" has been crossed out, and new numbers have been written in by hand. Trump later said Japan will invest 550 billion dollars in the US. The White House said Japan has agreed to buy 100 Boeing aircraft and increase defense spending with US firms. It also said Japan will boost purchases of US rice by 75 percent and that it will buy 8 billion dollars of agricultural and other goods. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg TV that Tokyo was "ready to deal" and proposed a "very innovative solution." He described the Japanese side as "tough negotiators" but said Trump is "tougher." White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned other trading partners about dealing with the president. She said: "He will only lower tariff rates if a country agrees to open their market to American made products. If not, they will continue to face tariffs and pay a steep price to do business in the United States of America." South Korea is one of the countries still trying to cut a deal. Negotiators will hold talks with Bessent later this week. Discussions with China are expected to take place early next week in Stockholm.
Nikkei Asia
2 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Biopharma supply chain plans must navigate contradictory US policies
An employee checks capsules inside a Cadila Pharmaceutical company manufacturing unit in Ahmedabad, India. Not all countries and segments of the biopharmaceutical supply chain will be impacted equally by geopolitical uncertainties. © Reuters Gopal Nadadur is senior vice president for South Asia, Sam Ide is vice president for China, and Alex Melillo is associate vice president for Japan at The Asia Group, a strategic advisory firm headquartered in Washington, D.C. Gopal is based in New Delhi and Sam and Alex are based in Washington, D.C. Asia-based biopharmaceutical supply chains are facing a peak period of geopolitically induced uncertainty. Washington is the key source of this upheaval, with industry strategies simultaneously upended by President Donald Trump's tariffs and onshoring policies, national security-focused regulations and pharmaceutical pricing pressure.
