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View all search resultsSovereignty for soybeans?
We should use this inadvertent grace period due to the US Supreme Court's ruling to review the ART scrupulously to see what we're actually gaining or losing, and make doubly sure that we haven't traded our sovereignty through an alliance pact disguised as a trade deal.
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President Prabowo Subianto (left) listens to United States President Donald Trump on Feb. 19, 2026, during the signing ceremony for the US-Indonesia Agreement on Reciprocal Tariffs (ART) in Washington, D.C. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat/White House)
I
ndonesia has signed a package deal with the United States, anchored by the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) and accompanied by what appears to be a series of “sweetener” transactions: large purchases and cooperation pledges designed to rebalance trade and signal political alignment.
At a glance, the agreement offers tariff relief and preferential treatment for key exports. However, if we dig deeper, it risks turning trade policy into a geopolitical instrument that narrows Indonesia’s freedom of action: precisely what our “free and active” foreign policy doctrine was built to avoid.
Luckily for us and the rest of the world, the US Supreme Court has struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Pending any follow-up adjustments, we should use this opportunity to slow down and reflect on what we can still gain.
No one should underestimate the appeal of market access. The government has argued the ART cushions labor-intensive sectors from a tariff shock and gives exporters breathing room, and these certainly matter.
But trade deals are not only judged by what they cut today. They should also be judged by what they bind tomorrow, and Indonesia should be alarmed by provisions that appear to reach beyond tariffs into the domain of strategic alignment, an area our diplomacy has historically treated as conscious, sovereign choices made in the national interest.
This is where the geopolitical implications begin.
Article 5.1 of the ART stipulates that if the US restricts a third party’s goods or services to protect its interests, Indonesia “shall adopt or maintain a measure with equivalent restrictive effect” as the US measure.
