EU-Indonesia trade pact: European Union chief announces 'political agreement'; Jakarta calls it 'breakthrough'
"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 reporters in Brussels.
"I am very pleased to report that we have just reached a political agreement on an ambitious Free Trade Agreement."
Talks between the European Union and Indonesia, southeast Asia's largest economy, have been ongoing since 2016.
The agreement is expected to boost trade and investment flows between the two regions.
In a statement, the European Commission described Sunday's development as a "decisive milestone" towards finalising the deal. It will be formally concluded in September by EU trade chief Maros Sefcovic and Indonesia's chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto, AFP reported.
"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 been advancing up efforts to deepen ties with strategic partners globally, particularly as Trump threatens to spark a trade war.
"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 added.
President Prabowo hailed the announcement in Brussels as 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 Indonesian leader stressed, "we consider Europe still a very important factor, and we would like to see a very strong Europe."
But he also underlined that "the United States will be always a very important leader in the world".
The EU is currently Indonesia's fifth-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $30.1 billion last year.
Relations between the two had been strained in recent years due to a proposed EU import ban on goods linked to deforestation, a move that angered Indonesia, a major palm oil producer.
That legislation has now been pushed to the end of the year.
Stay informed with the latest
business
news, updates on
bank holidays
and
public holidays
.
AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
41 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Technology be adopted to evolve businesses: Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan
Kris Gopalakrishnan, Chairman of CII CIES, Co-Founder of Infosys, and Chairman of Axilor Ventures, during an interaction with entrepreneurs here on Monday, advised young entrepreneurs and start-ups to adopt technology to give a boost and evolve in their business. Technology, a disruptor in almost every sector, was also an important driving factor for upgradation, he added. Though it could be a challenge for the start-ups to bring in the money required for the upgradation, it has become an indispensable change that has to be adopted, Mr. Gopalakrishnan stated. 'But the out of box thinking like roping interns and experienced retirees to get the technologies incorporated into the businesses could be considered. Building a network with the colleges can help address the demand,' he suggested. Commenting that the academics and industries have not worked together as an ecosystem, he said that except for hiring students through placements, a dialogue between the two large sectors was missing. He asked the education institutions to adopt the idea of Indian Institute of Technology to allocate vacant space for the industries to set up their units at the institution. By that way, both the students and the company could benefit from each other. 'As close to 25 lakh engineering graduates come out of colleges every year and with the recent dip of employment in Information Technology sector innovative ways are required to fill the gap in education and employment,' he added. The Karnataka government, to upskill both students and teachers to adapt to the changing needs of the market, has planned to conduct a mass workshop to train teachers on Artificial Intelligence (AI), he pointed out. 'Though students are being updated on the latest technologies, teaching faculties, following their employment, stops learning,' Mr. Gopalakrishnan said. Adopting new systems like dedicating a semester to internships for students and allowing a sabbatical for teachers to improve their industrial knowledge could give leverage in the knowledge acquisition and hiring process, he suggested. With rapid intrusion of AI into the sectors, there was a fear afloat that it would replace humans, but the same fear prevailed when computers were first introduced into banking sectors in 1980s, he noted. Rejecting the fears, he said once the sector grows, employment will eventually grow. Speaking on the academic challenges in inculcating business interest in students, he said in Kerala and Gujarat, the State governments have allocated a separate fund to encourage students to develop and start a business as part of their curriculum. It would not only motivate the students but would also help them think of businesses as an alternative option to job seeking, he noted. 'Only by running a business, we can learn about business,' he said. The CII (Madurai zone) had hosted an exclusive interactive session for the Start-ups, MSMEs and incubation centres. CII (Madurai zone) chairman Ashwin Desai and others spoke.
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Tariff Tracker, July 14: Trump's latest tariff announcements, and the impact so far on the US
Dear reader, Last week, US President Donald Trump extended the pause on reciprocal tariffs on countries from July 9 to August 1. This was expected, given the sheer impossibility of concluding '90 deals in 90 days', as Trump originally promised in April. Over the past week, he also announced a new series of tariffs against 'foes' old and new. The onslaught began last Monday (July 7) as the United States levied tariffs of up to 40% on 14 countries, including longtime allies Japan and South Korea. In the following week, Trump announced 30% duties on imports from Libya, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Algeria, Mexico and the European Union. Canada faces 35% in duties, while all countries aligning with the 'Anti-American policies of BRICS', that is Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa plus five nations, face 10% additional tariffs, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. Brunei and Moldova face 25% in tariffs, while the Philippines stands at 20%. Trump singled out Brazil for its 'witch hunt' against his close friend and former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, announcing 50% tariffs. He also announced a 50% tariff on Copper following a 'robust NATIONAL SECURITY ASSESSMENT', and promised to charge up to 200% tariffs on foreign drugs. The renewed tariffs are expected to become effective from August 1. Trump announced two sets of tariffs on April 2, which he dubbed 'Liberation Day'. These included a 10% baseline tariff on all trading partners, and country-specific rates on countries with which the US has maintained trade deficits. On April 9, he paused tariffs in the second category for 90 days, promising to complete 90 deals with 90 countries in this period. By then, he had already imposed punitive tariffs for fentanyl trafficking, at 25% on Mexico and Canada, and 30% on China, to pressure the trio into imposing stricter curbs on purported fentanyl trafficking. All three categories of tariffs have been challenged in court, as they were announced under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, 1977 (IEEPA). The Act, which allows the president to bypass congressional approval, has typically been used to impose sanctions on countries which pose a national threat. We explained the legal challenge in the May 29 Tariff Tracker, while the court order described here has since been stayed. COUNTRY-SPECIFIC TARIFFS (Source: The New York Times. *Canada and Mexico were subjected to the 25% fentanyl tariffs, while Brazil only faced the 10% baseline rate and not a country-specific tariff.) Initially, the Trump administration entered into an ever-escalating trade war with China, which was the only country that announced its own retaliatory tariffs on the US. Trump's 10% fentanyl tariff on China in February, doubled a month later, failed to achieve its objective of nudging the Chinese side into talks. Instead, China announced countermeasures targeting Liquefied Natural Gas, coal, and farm machinery, among other products. The trade war escalated with the Liberation Day tariff announcements, which at their peak, saw US tariffs on Chinese products reach 145%, while China charged 125% tariffs. China also announced an elaborate licensing system to restrict exports of rare earth minerals, holding a global monopoly of sorts on their processing. It cited a national security risk behind the decision, and commentators have deemed it a significant leverage going forward. A notional truce was achieved on May 12 following representatives' talks in Geneva, but trouble arose as the US accused China of moving at a sluggish pace in exporting rare earths to the US. The Trump administration moved to restrict access to a range of products, chemicals, software and technologies critical for the Chinese manufacture of advanced chips and jet engines. Further talks resulted in a handshake agreement on June 11 in London, suggesting a return to the terms agreed by both countries on May 12. Details of the most recent agreement remain under wraps. And what are the sector-specific tariffs? Trump announced additional 25% tariffs on steel, aluminium and automobiles under Section 232 of the 1962 Trade Expansion Act. These depend on a 2019 Commerce Department investigation calling these imports a 'national security' risk. Last month, he doubled the metals tariffs to 50%, a move he described in an executive order that would 'counter foreign countries' as they 'undercut the competitiveness' of American industries. The 'de minimis rule' was a shipping loophole that allowed Chinese exporters to sell goods, including clothes, directly to American consumers while bypassing tariffs, as long as they were priced below $800. Trump has also announced the following: * Tariffs on solar energy under Section 201 of the 1974 Trade Act, dating back to Trump's first term (2017-21). These are safeguard tariffs meant to protect domestic industries from foreign competition. * Section 301 tariffs on imports from China, punishing unfair trade practices. * Potential tariffs on pharma products and semiconductor chips under Section 232, pending an investigation into these industries. * 100% tariffs on films made outside the US. * A potential 25% duty on Apple if it continues to manufacture phones outside the US. Trump claims the tariffs have been a success. In a social media post dated July 8, he claimed that the tariffs have had 'ZERO IMPACT on Inflation', that 'Import Prices are actually DROPPING' and 'Tariffs are making our Country 'BOOM.'' As explained in previous editions of this tracker, the US President has been motivated by attempts to supposedly resolve the trade deficits the US maintains with several countries, describing this position as the US being 'ripped off' or 'subsidising' other countries. The Trump administration has also leaned on tariffs as a means to force countries to the negotiating table – Trump compared the US to a 'giant department store' in April, for which his administration will 'set the price' for countries seeking to do business with it. The reality, however, points to an inevitable path toward economic distress for American consumers. In its latest analysis dated July 11, the Yale Budget Lab noted that consumers currently face an overall average effective tariff rate of 18.7%, from 2.5% in January. The 18.7% rate is the highest since 1933, when the ill-fated Smoot-Hawley tariffs were in effect. If all the tariffs announced by the president become effective from August 1, the average tariff rate would rise to 20.6%, the highest since 1910, according to this analysis. However, one puzzling question has been how inflation has managed to remain muted, at 2.4% in June, even as the US Treasury collected a record $100 billion in customs duties and is projected to rake in $300 billion this year, according to a Fortune report. Economists have warned that the months to come could result in drastic price increases, with tariffs having only been in place for a short period. US importers have thus far borne the brunt of the tariffs, and it would be a while before these translated into higher consumer prices. The report also suggests the mass stockpiling of goods by big businesses ahead of the higher tariff rates becoming effective as another reason.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
BPO sector ripe for AI disruption, says TCS CEO K Krithivasan
Synopsis While there is talk of AI displacing various entry-level and lower-end jobs in call centres, experts say that it could create high-value roles in data science, AI system development, and digital marketing, among others. This comes days after French IT services major Capgemini agreed to buy WNS, an Indian-origin provider of BPO technology, for $3.3 billion (Rs 28,280 crore) in cash.
