Agencies, Jakarta – Indonesia is considering purchasing billions of dollars worth of US-manufactured defence equipment, including fighter jets and munitions, Bloomberg news reported on Friday.
Defence Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin held a closed-door meeting of senior officials on April 8 to deliver a directive from the President Prabowo Subianto instructing them to identify US weapons that could be imported or fast-tracked for purchase, the report said, citing people with knowledge of the gathering.
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said on Friday that Indonesia will increase imports of US food and commodities and reduce orders from countries where it currently buys the products.
Airlangga is in the United States as part of a delegation of senior officials to meet US counterparts for talks on a 32 percent tariff on Indonesian exports, which has been paused for 90 days.
Indonesia has proposed increasing its imports from the US by as much as $19 billion, including around $10 billion of energy imports, to eliminate its trade surplus with Washington and avoid the tariffs threatened by the administration of President Donald Trump.
Airlangga made the comments after he and other delegates met US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Data from the US Trade Representative Office shows Washington's goods trade deficit with Jakarta stood at $17.9 billion in 2024, up 5.4 percent on-year.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said this month that Indonesia would adjust import taxes on some commodities from 2.5 percent to 0.5 percent, including mobile phones and laptops.
Other products, including US steel and medical equipment, would be granted lower import duties of zero to five percent, down from 5-10 percent, she said.