EU and Indonesia announce 'political agreement' on trade deal
"We're living in turbulent times and when economic uncertainty meets geopolitical volatility, partners like us must come closer together. So today we're taking a big step forward in this partnership," von der Leyen told journalists in Brussels.
"I am very pleased to report that we have just reached a political agreement on an ambitious Free Trade Agreement."
The 27-nation European bloc and Southeast Asia's largest economy have been negotiating since 2016 to agree a deal that is expected to increase trade and investment.
A European Commission statement called Sunday's agreement a "decisive milestone" towards striking the deal - which is to be concluded in September by EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and Indonesia's chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto.
"There's a lot of untapped potential in our trade relationship. And therefore this agreement comes at the right time, because the new agreement will open new markets," von der Leyen said.
"It will create more opportunities in key industries, in business activity and agriculture, in automotive and in services."
Brussels has stepped up efforts to improve ties with key potential partners around the world as Trump threatens a trade war with sweeping tariffs.
"This big and important political agreement on the free trade agreement with Indonesia is today a huge milestone forward, and shows that we're looking for new markets, open markets," von der Leyen said.
"BREAKTHROUGH"
Prabowo called the announcement in Brussels a "breakthrough".
"After 10 years of negotiations, we have concluded the agreement to have a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which basically is a free trade agreement," he said.
The president said "we consider Europe still a very important factor, and we would like to see a very strong Europe."
But he insisted that "the United States will be always a very important leader in the world".
The European Union is Indonesia's fifth-largest trading partner with bilateral trade between them reaching US$30.1 billion last year.
Ties had been frayed by a proposed EU import ban on products linked to deforestation that has angered Indonesia because it is a major palm oil exporter.
That legislation has been delayed to the end of this year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
EU wants to see China taking more ambitious climate action
[BEIJING] The world needs China to show more leadership on climate action, EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra said on Sunday (Jul 13), highlighting the importance of cutting planet-heating emissions and reducing the Chinese economy's reliance on coal. Hoekstra is in Beijing for high-level talks with Chinese officials on environmental and climate issues, at which he also wants to encourage China to stop building new coal-fired power plants and phase out use of the fossil fuel. 'We do encourage China to take more of a leadership role going forward and really hit the road with meaningful emission reductions in the next couple of years, and also move out of the domain of coal,' Hoekstra said. The number of coal power plants in the pipeline has been increasing in China, the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter, according to the World Economic Forum. In the first three months this year, China approved 11.29 gigawatts (GW) of new coal power plants, exceeded the approval rate in the first half of 2024, a June report by environmental group Greenpeace showed. Last week, Hoekstra told the Financial Times the EU was holding off on signing a joint climate declaration with China unless Beijing pledges a greater commitment to reduce emissions. 'We are open to looking into a potential declaration, but ... the thing that is most important about these types of statements is the content that goes into it,' he said when asked about the issue, without specifying what commitment the EU hopes to see from China. Hoekstra said the EU is interested in seeking areas of cooperation with China ahead of the COP30 UN climate conference that will be held in Brazil in November. REUTERS
Business Times
2 hours ago
- Business Times
Gold hits three-week high as Trump widens trade war
[BENGALURU] Gold prices touched a three-week high on Monday (Jul 14), supported by safe-haven demand after US President Donald Trump threatened to impose a 30 per cent tariff on imports from the European Union and Mexico. Spot gold was up 0.5 per cent to US$3,371.34 per ounce, as at 0045 GMT, its highest since Jun 23. US gold futures climbed 0.7 per cent at US$3,386.20. Trump on Saturday threatened to impose a 30 per cent tariff on imports from Mexico and the European Union starting on Aug 1, after weeks of negotiations with the major US trading partners failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal. Both the European Union and Mexico described the tariffs as unfair and disruptive, while the EU said it would extend its suspension of countermeasures to US tariffs until early August and continue to press for a negotiated settlement. Investors now await the US inflation data for June, due on Tuesday for more cues on the Federal Reserve's interest rate path. Markets are currently pricing in just over 50 basis points worth of Fed easing by December. Chicago Fed Bank president Austan Goolsbee said the new tariffs unveiled by Trump could spark fresh concerns about inflation, which might force the Fed to maintain its wait-and-see posture, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Gold, often considered a safe-haven asset during economic uncertainties, tends to do well in a low-interest-rate environment. SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, said its holdings fell 0.12 per cent to 947.64 tonnes on Friday from 948.80 tonnes on Thursday. Meanwhile, gold speculators cut net long positions by 1,855 contracts to 134,842 in the week to Jul 8. Spot silver gained 0.4 per cent at US$38.49 per ounce, platinum fell 1.1 per cent to US$1,384 and palladium slipped 1.7 per cent to US$1,194.40. REUTERS
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Dollar at more than two-week high versus yen as trade war heats up
NEW YORK :The dollar hovered near more than a two-week high against the yen on Wednesday as U.S. President Donald Trump announced tariffs on seven countries, after earlier this week imposing 25 per cent tariffs on Japan and other trade partners beginning in August. . The greenback advanced against major peers on Tuesday after Trump issued a round of tariff letters to countries including Algeria, Iraq, Libya, Sri Lanka and the Philippines. Those tariffs - as high as 30 per cent - are due to start on August 1, but Trump said he was open to extensions if countries made proposals. Trump said on social media that tariff letters to additional countries would be released later Wednesday afternoon, without specifying any details. Despite recent gains, the dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, is still down more than 6 per cent since Trump on April 2 unveiled his sweeping "Liberation Day" reciprocal tariffs, which prompted a sell-off in markets but were later mostly postponed to give time to negotiate bilateral trade deals.\ "There's been a lot of turbulence in holding the U.S. dollar," said Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA. "Where do we go now? Well, the uncertainty remains, and I know that that's a frustrating thing to hear, but this is going to be a roller coaster ride in which ... you're going to have to start embracing and accepting is just part of doing business." Trump has also threatened a 50 per cent tariff on imported copper and said he would soon introduce long-threatened levies on semiconductors and pharmaceuticals. The dollar was down 0.18 per cent at 146.35 yen, after touching 147.19 earlier in the session. The U.S. currency has gained around 1.5 per cent so far this week - the greenback's biggest weekly rise since mid-December. Export-dependent Japan stands out among major U.S. trading partners as being the farthest from a deal, and its currency has taken a beating. Multiple rounds of talks have failed to result in a breakthrough, and Japanese policymakers are increasingly focused on a critical upcoming election. Speculation that opposition parties will gain seats in Japan's upper house and push for more fiscal stimulus has sent Japanese government bonds (JGBs) lower this week, causing a spike in long-term yields. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has been a key trade negotiator with Tokyo, is expected to attend the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, later this month, potentially opening the door for more discussions. The euro slipped 0.09 per cent to $1.171 as investors cautiously weighed the likelihood that the European Union would not receive a tariff letter and could secure exemptions from the U.S. baseline rate of 10 per cent, EU sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Minutes from the Federal Reserve's June 17-18 policy meeting on Wednesday showed that only "a couple" of officials said they felt interest rates could be reduced as soon as this month, with most policymakers remaining worried about the inflationary pressure from Trump's tariffs. Antje Praefcke, an FX analyst at Commerzbank, credited the euro's strength against the dollar also to markets pricing in interest rate differentials between the U.S. and Europe. "The market is now pricing in just under two interest rate cuts by the Fed by the end of the year, but only one by the ECB." The dollar index inched down 0.003 per cent to 97.545, while sterling was down 0.04 per cent at $1.36.
