Biden knocks Trump over NATO, democracy in State of the Union address

US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 7, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 08 March 2024
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Biden knocks Trump over NATO, democracy in State of the Union address

  • Turned speech into an animated argument for a second term as he laced into Trump for espousing “resentment, revenge and retribution” and jeopardizing freedom at home and abroad
  • Trump, who is facing multiple criminal charges as he fights for re-election, says he plans to punish political foes and deport millions of migrants if he wins a second White House term

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden declared democracy under threat at home and abroad and called former President Donald Trump’s position on NATO unacceptable on Thursday in a State of the Union speech designed to contrast visions with his 2024 Republican opponent.

Biden, speaking before a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate, opened his remarks with a direct criticism of Trump for comments inviting Russian President Vladimir Putin to invade other NATO nations if they did not spend more on defense.
“Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘Do whatever you want,’” Biden said. “I think it’s outrageous, it’s dangerous and it’s unacceptable.”
Biden, who has been pushing Congress to provide additional funding to Ukraine for its war with Russia, also had a message for Putin: “We will not walk away,” he said.
The president drew a contrast with Trump, his Republican challenger in the Nov. 5 election, over democracy, abortion rights and the economy during a speech that Democrats see as a high profile chance for Biden to press his case for a second term in front of a rare TV audience of millions of Americans.
Biden, suffering from low approval ratings, faces discontent among progressives in his party about his support for Israel in its war against Hamas and from Republicans over his stance on immigration.
Some lawmakers wore ceasefire pins to signal their protest, but many chanted, “Four more years!” as he entered the chamber.
Multiple women lawmakers in the audience wore white to promote reproductive rights.
Biden highlighted the threats to democracy he argues Trump poses as the former president repeats false claims about his 2020 election loss and proposes jailing political enemies.
“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy. A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality,” Biden will say, according to speech excerpts released ahead of time. “Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”
Trump, who is facing multiple criminal charges as he fights for re-election, says he plans to punish political foes and deport millions of migrants if he wins a second White House term. Representative Troy Nehls, a Republican, wore a shirt with Trump’s face and the words “Never surrender” on it.

Age, economy at issue
Opinion polls show Biden, 81, and Trump, 77, closely matched in the race. Most American voters are unenthusiastic about the rematch after Biden defeated Trump four years ago.
The president’s reference to “other people my age” is an attempt to underscore that the two men are both old. Biden, who has faced concerns about his mental acuity, was not expected to mention Trump, who also makes regular gaffes and verbal slip-ups, by name.
The speech may be the Democratic president’s biggest stage to reach voters weighing whether to vote for him, choose Trump, or sit out the election. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last remaining rival for his party’s presidential nomination, dropped out on Wednesday.
Biden sought to burnish his reputation with Americans about the strength of the US economy and renew his quest to make wealthy Americans and corporations pay more in taxes, unveiling proposals including higher minimum taxes for companies and Americans with wealth over $100 million.
Any such tax reform is unlikely to pass unless Democrats win strong majorities in both houses of Congress in the November vote, which is not forecast.
Biden also proposed new measures to lower housing costs, including a $10,000 tax credit for first-time homebuyers — an acknowledgement of consumers’ distress over high mortgage interest rates — while boasting of USeconomic progress under his tenure.
“I came to office determined to get us through one of the toughest periods in our nation’s history. And we have. It doesn’t make the news, but in thousands of cities and towns the American people are writing the greatest comeback story never told,” Biden will say of his economic record since 2021, according to excerpts.
The US economy is performing better than most high-income countries, with continued job growth and consumer spending.
However, Republican voters tell pollsters they are deeply dissatisfied with the economy, and Americans overall give Trump better marks in polls for economic issues.
“Joe Biden is on the run from his record ... to escape accountability for the horrific devastation he and his party have created,” Trump posted before the speech on his Truth Social platform.

Gaza port, Ukraine funds
Biden was expected to try to cool anger among many Democrats over his support for Israel’s offensive in Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. He will announce during the speech that the US military will build a port on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to receive humanitarian assistance by sea, US officials told reporters.
Biden used the speech to push, again, for a $95 billion aid package for weapons to Ukraine and aid to Israel that has been blocked by Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson.
The president’s wife’s guests for the speech include Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who was in Washington as Sweden formally joins NATO on Thursday, two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — indicating Biden will speak on his support for the security alliance, another contrast with Trump.
Other White House guests included people affected by in vitro fertilization or abortion restrictions, a veteran of the 1965 Bloody Sunday attack on Black marchers in Selma, Alabama, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and others.
US Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, who will deliver Republicans’ formal response to Biden’s speech, planned to attack him over immigration and the economy.
“The true, unvarnished State of our Union begins and ends with this: Our families are hurting. Our country can do better,” she will say, according to excerpts. “President Biden’s border crisis is a disgrace. It’s despicable. And it’s almost entirely preventable.”

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Biden uses feisty State of the Union to contrast with Trump, sell voters on a second term

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden turned his State of the Union speech Thursday night into an animated argument for a second term as he laced into GOP front-runner Donald Trump for espousing “resentment, revenge and retribution” and jeopardizing freedom at home and abroad.
Over and over, Biden delivered broadsides at “my predecessor” without mentioning Trump by name, raising his voice as he tried to quell voter concerns about his age and job performance while sharpening the contrast with his all-but-certain November rival.
It was a far different — and feistier tone — from Biden than in his previous State of the Union address, and it was designed to banish doubts about whether the 81-year-old is still up to the job. Biden goaded Republicans over their policies, invited call-and-response banter with fellow Democrats on economic issues, taxes and health care and seemed to revel in the fight.
“Freedom and democracy are under attack both at home and overseas at the very same time,” Biden said as he appealed for Congress to support Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russia’s invasion. “History is watching.”
Biden quickly pivoted to the threats at home, referencing the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the 2020 election, and calling for the threat to democracy to be countered.
“My predecessor — and some of you here — seek to bury the truth about Jan. 6 — I will not do that,” Biden said. “This is a moment to speak the truth and to bury the lies. Here’s a simple truth. You can’t love your country only when you win.”
“My lifetime has taught me to embrace freedom and democracy,” Biden said. “A future based on the core values that have defined America: honesty, decency, dignity, equality. To respect everyone. To give everyone a fair shot. To give hate no safe harbor. Now some other people my age see a different story: an American story of resentment, revenge, and retribution. That’s not me.”
The president showcased his accomplishments on infrastructure and manufacturing, and pushed Congress to approve more aid to Ukraine, tougher migration rules and lower drug prices. He also sought to remind voters of the situation he inherited when he entered office in 2021 amid a raging pandemic and a contracting economy.
The 81-year-old president was being closely watched not just for his message, but for whether he could deliver it with vigor and command.
White House aides said Biden was aiming to prove his doubters wrong by flashing his combative side and trying to needle Republicans over positions he believes are out of step with the country, particularly on access to abortion, but also tax policy and health care. It’s part of his campaign-year effort to use even official speeches to clarify the choice for voters at the ballot box this fall.
Taking a victory lap in selling his legislative accomplishments, such as one that bolsters manufacturing of computer chips nationwide, Biden veered from his prepared script to take a dig at Republicans who voted against such policies but are eager to take credit for them back home.
“If any of you don’t want that money in your districts,” Biden said, “just let me know.”
The president was speaking before a historically ineffective Congress. In the GOP-led House, Speaker Mike Johnson took power five months ago after the chaotic ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Legislators are still struggling to approve funding bills for the current year and have been deadlocked for months on foreign assistance bills to help Ukraine stave off Russia’s invasion and support Israel’s fight against Hamas.
The State of the Union address is a marquee night on the White House calendar, offering presidents a direct line to a captive audience of lawmakers and dignitaries in the House chamber and tens of millions of viewers at home. But even so, the night has lost some of its luster as viewership has declined.
Biden aides inside the White House and on his campaign had hoped for some fresh viral moments — like when he tussled last year with heckling Republicans and chided them for past efforts to cut Medicare and Social Security.
Johnson, eager to avoid a similar episode this year, urged Republicans in a private meeting Wednesday to show “decorum” during the speech, according to a person familiar with his remarks to lawmakers.
He appeared to have limited success. A number of House Republicans began to stand up and leave the chamber as Biden discussed raising taxes on billionaires and corporations. Other, like Johnson, remained in their chairs and shook their heads.
Biden engaged in a loud call and response with lawmakers as he rhetorically questioned whether the tax code was fair and whether billionaires and corporations need “another $2 trillion in tax breaks,” as he charged Republicans want.
One of the most contentious moments of his speech came during his remarks on immigration, when Biden was running down the endorsements by conservative groups of the bipartisan border legislation that Republicans killed last month.
Some in the audience appeared to yell and interject, and Biden shot back, “I know you know how to read.”
As Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, decked out in pro-Trump paraphernalia, continued to shout at Biden, the president held up a white button that the Georgia Republican had handed him earlier bearing the name of Laken Riley, who authorities say was killed by a Venezuelan national who unlawfully crossed into the US in September 2022.
Biden seemed eager to engage with his critics. “Say her name,” Greene yelled at the president. “Laken Riley,” Biden responded, calling her an “innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.” He expressed condolences to her family, saying his heart goes out to them.
And congressional Republican leaders were showcasing one of their newest lawmakers through the State of the Union rebuttal in order to make a generational contrast with Biden. Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the youngest Republican woman elected to the Senate, planned to paint a picture of a nation that “seems to be slipping away” and one where “our families are hurting.”
“Right now, our commander-in-chief is not in command. The free world deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader,” Britt was to say, according to excerpts released Thursday evening. “America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are the cornerstones of a great nation.”
Biden painted an optimistic future for the country as the massive pieces of legislation he signed into law during his first two years in office are implemented. But he also was set to warn that the progress he sees at home and abroad is fragile — and particularly vulnerable if Trump returns to the White House.
Trump, for his part, said he planned to respond in real time to Biden’s remarks on his Truth Social platform.
This year, Biden faced heightened emotions — particularly among his base supporters — over his staunch backing for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The White House had initially hoped a short-term ceasefire would be in place before the speech. It blames Hamas for not yet accepting a deal brokered by the US and its allies.
“Israel must allow more aid into Gaza and ensure that humanitarian workers aren’t caught in the crossfire,” Biden said, delivering a warning that Israel should not use aid as a “bargaining chip” with Hamas, even as he reaffirmed Israel’s right to defend itself from attacks by the militant group.
A slew of Democrats and Republicans wore pins and stickers in honor of the Israeli hostages still being held captive in Gaza. Meanwhile, several House progressives wore Palestinian keffiyehs, the black and white checkered scarfs that have come to symbolize Palestinian solidarity. Biden’s motorcade took a circuitous route to the Capitol, as hundreds of pro-ceasefire demonstrators tried to disrupt its path from the White House.
Amid growing concerns about the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, Biden announced in his address that he has directed the US military to establish a temporary port on the Gaza coast aimed at increasing the flow of aid into the beleaguered territory.
The president also issued an emphatic call for lawmakers to pass sorely needed defense assistance for Ukraine. Acute ammunition shortages have allowed Russia to retake the offensive in the 2-year-old war.
The GOP-controlled House has refused to act on a Senate-passed version of the aid legislation, insisting on new stiffer measures to limit migration at the US-Mexico border, after Trump used his influence to help sink a bipartisan compromise that would have done just that.
Access to abortion and fertility treatments was also a key component of Biden’s speech, especially in light of a controversial ruling from Alabama’s Supreme Court that has upended access to in vitro fertilization treatment in the state.
One of first lady Jill Biden’s guests for the speech was Kate Cox, who sued Texas, and ultimately left her home state, to obtain an emergency abortion after a severe fetal anomaly was detected.
“If Americans send me a Congress that supports the right to choose I promise you: I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again,” Biden said. Several House Democratic women were wearing white — a symbol of women’s suffrage — to promote reproductive rights.
The White House also invited union leaders, a gun control advocate, and others that Jill Biden and her husband have met as they traveled the country promoting his agenda. The prime minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, will attend to mark his country’s accession to NATO in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Expelled and disgraced, former Rep. George Santos, who still retains floor privileges as an ex-member of Congress, also showed up for the speech.
Going into the State of the Union, Biden also has raised the problems of “shrinkflation” – companies putting fewer pretzels in the jar and less yogurt in sealed cups — and so-called “junk fees” on services. Neither is a prime driver of inflation, but the White House hopes to show consumers that Biden is fighting for them.
Biden also unveiled an expanded plan to raise corporate taxes and use the proceeds to trim budget deficits and cut taxes for the middle class.
Biden entered the speech with work to do shoring up his standing. Just 38 percent of US adults approve of how he is handling his job as president, while 61 percent disapprove, according to a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The same survey found that more than 6 in 10 (63 percent) say they’re not very or not at all confident in Biden’s mental capability to serve effectively as president. A similar but slightly smaller share (57 percent) say that Trump lacks the memory and acuity for the job.
The already intense scrutiny of Biden’s age was magnified when special counsel Robert Hur raised questions about the president’s mental acuity in his report last month on Biden’s handling of classified information. Hur is set to testify Tuesday before lawmakers about his investigation.
Following the speech, Biden was set for a weekend of campaign travel, holding events in Pennsylvania on Friday and Georgia on Saturday. Trump, too, will be campaigning in Georgia that day. The president’s Cabinet also will fan out across the country to amplify his message.
The Biden campaign said it would host more than 200 watch parties around the country Thursday night, including in cities, suburbs and rural towns in battleground states. Campaign officials will use the events to recruit volunteers and encourage others to get involved in Biden’s reelection effort.

 


Shipping on Rhine river in Germany back to normal after rain raises water level

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Shipping on Rhine river in Germany back to normal after rain raises water level

Dry weather and a heatwave in June and July meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail
Rain in past days means the last northern river sections where shipping was hindered by shallow water

HAMBURG: Repeated rain in past days has raised water levels on all of the river Rhine in Germany to normal levels allowing cargo vessels to sail with full loads, commodity traders said on Tuesday.

Dry weather and a heatwave in June and July meant the river became too shallow for vessels to sail fully loaded. Ship operators imposed surcharges on freight rates to compensate for vessels sailing partly empty, increasing costs for cargo owners.

Rain in past days means the last northern river sections where shipping was hindered by shallow water, including around Duisburg and Cologne, have been raised to levels allowing full loads.

Rain had raised other sections of the river, including the chokepoint at Kaub, to normal levels over the weekend.

The impact of the heatwave had been stronger than expected as fields were especially dry which drain into smaller streams and rivers feeding into the Rhine.

The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, ores, chemicals, coal and oil products, including heating oil.

German companies faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in summer 2022 after a drought led to unusually low water levels on the river.

Unrest in Angolan capital after 4 killed in fuel hike protests

Updated 2 min 58 sec ago
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Unrest in Angolan capital after 4 killed in fuel hike protests

  • Gunfire could be heard in central Luanda’s Cazenga area, where people were seen taking food and other items from shops
  • Police reported “a few isolated incidents of disorder” early Tuesday and said people involved “were repelled and continue to be repelled“

LUANDA: Shots rang out as Angola’s capital was gripped by a second day of looting Tuesday, after at least four people were killed and scores arrested when violence erupted during a strike against a fuel price hike.

Transport in Luanda remained suspended and shops closed after massive looting on Monday, the first day of the taxi drivers’ strike to condemn the July 1 price rise, which had already led to several protests.

Gunfire could be heard in central Luanda’s Cazenga area, where people were seen taking food and other items from shops, an AFP reporter said.

Images shared on social media showed clashes in the Rocha Pinto suburb near the airport and security forces deploying to a street where burning rubbish bins barricaded a road in the Prenda area.

The government’s decision to raise heavily subsidised fuel prices from 300 to 400 kwanzas ($0.33 to $0.43) a liter in July has caused anger in Angola, one of Africa’s top oil producers where many people live in poverty.

“We are tired ... they must announce something for things to change ... for us to live in better conditions,” a protester told Angola’s TV Nzinga.

“Why do you make us suffer like this? How will we feed our children? The prices have to go down,” a woman said, addressing President Joao Lourenco.

Police reported “a few isolated incidents of disorder” early Tuesday and said people involved “were repelled and continue to be repelled.”

“We currently report four deaths,” Deputy Commissioner Mateus Rodrigues told reporters in a briefing about Monday’s violence. He did not specify how they occurred.

Police rounded up 400 people overnight for suspected involvement in the unrest after arresting 100 on Monday, he said.

About 45 shops were vandalized, while 25 private vehicles and 20 public buses were damaged, he said. Banks were also targeted.

“We continue to stress that our forces are on the streets, equipped with the necessary resources based on the threat level, responding where order has been restored to maintain it, and intervening where there are still disturbances to reestablish public order and peace,” he said.

AFP photographs on Monday showed people running off with items looted from shops, while images posted on social media showed large crowds of protesters and, separately, police pushing back groups of people.

Local media reports said security forces had used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.

A journalist in the city of Huambo, around 600 kilometers (370 miles) from Luanda, said there had also been looting and rioting there.

The New Alliance of Taxi Drivers Association (ANATA) distanced itself from Monday’s violence but said the three-day strike would continue.

It “has become clear that the voice of the taxi drivers reflects the outcry of the Angolan people,” the association said in a statement Tuesday.

Around 2,000 people demonstrated against the fuel hike on Saturday, with protests also held the previous two weekends.

Human Rights Watch said police had used excessive force in the July 12 protest, including firing tear gas and rubber bullets.

In a joint statement on Monday, civil society groups condemned the July 19 arrest of one of the organizers of the protests, Osvaldo Sergio Correia Caholo.

He was a “victim of the oppression in Angola, where freedoms and fundamental guarantees are constantly being trampled upon,” they said.

The protests were a “direct consequence” of the government’s failure to address unemployment, high living costs and a decline in public services, the Uyele civic group said.

It is “urgent to understand that we are facing a serious symptom: the social exhaustion of a youth with no alternatives,” it said in a statement.

Lourenco’s MPLA party has ruled Angola, which has a population of around 33 million, since its independence from Portugal in 1975.


Poland says 32 people detained and suspected of coordinating with Russia for sabotage

Updated 14 min 45 sec ago
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Poland says 32 people detained and suspected of coordinating with Russia for sabotage

  • One person has been convicted, while the others are in custody awaiting trial,
  • The group includes a Pole, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians

WARSAW: Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk on Tuesday said authorities have detained 32 people suspected of coordinating with Russia to engage in acts of sabotage, according to Polish news agency PAP.

One person has been convicted, while the others are in custody awaiting trial, PAP reported.

The group includes a Pole, Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians, PAP reported, as well as a 27-year-old Colombian man who is accused of two arson attacks in Poland last year at Russia’s behest.

The Polish Internal Security Agency in a statement Tuesday said he faces up to 10 years to life in prison in connection with the arson attacks on two construction warehouses in May 2024.


The suspect allegedly received his instructions, including how to make a Molotov cocktail to start the fires, from someone associated with Russian intelligence, the agency said.

Other details about the suspects or the alleged sabotage were not immediately available.


Pakistan’s crackdown on black market dollar trade pushes deals online

Updated 17 min 39 sec ago
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Pakistan’s crackdown on black market dollar trade pushes deals online

  • Pakistan’s crackdown on black market dollar trading has strengthened the rupee, but traders say under-the-counter deals have swiftly shifted to smartphones and home deliveries instead

KARACHI: Pakistan’s crackdown on black market dollar trading has strengthened the rupee, but traders say under-the-counter deals have swiftly shifted to smartphones and home deliveries instead.
Many unlicensed exchange shops have been shut since July 22, when the military spy agency summoned representatives of the sector to explain the US dollar’s rising cost in the open market. Soon after, raids were carried out by the Federal Investigation Agency, which tackles financial crime and smuggling.
Since the crackdown began, the rupee has rebounded from a sharp fall against the dollar earlier in July. In the open market, it firmed from 288.6 per dollar on July 19 to about 286 in recent sessions.
But traders and bankers say the trade continues, suggesting the crackdown’s effects could be short-lived.
The black market operates outside official channels and includes unlicensed dealers, personal networks, and digital peer-to-peer exchanges, with customers seeking to skip tax declarations, avoid burdensome paperwork and bypass limits on official currency purchases.
In Peshawar, a city near the Afghan border long known for black market currency deals, many shops in the historic Chowk Yadgar district remain shuttered, though some traders were still operating discreetly in back-alley booths.
“The trade didn’t stop. It just moved,” said Ahmad, a dealer whose family has been in the business for generations. “Now it’s on WhatsApp. If you know someone, the dollars come to your house.”
“The big players have shifted to safer locations and kept going,” said another trader, Gul. Both traders asked not to give their full names.
Even retail buyers are bypassing the formal foreign exchange market. Hassan, a manager at a multinational firm in Karachi, said stricter documentation drove him to an informal forex chat.
“Everyone there is a buyer or seller. No middleman, no commission. Sometimes it’s physical cash, sometimes bank transfers, sometimes crypto,” he said.
STRICTER FX DISCIPLINE
On Monday, Pakistan’s central bank called in bank treasury heads to address pressure on the rupee. Two bankers said they were told to stop buying dollars from exchange companies at above-official rates on the grounds it was skewing the market.
Banks were asked to rely on their own inflows from exports and remittances, but both sources have slowed. Exporters are delaying bringing money home, betting the rupee will weaken. Remittances are also tapering off as banks reduce incentives once offered to attract overseas inflows.
Authorities also pressed banks to keep the gap between the interbank rate and the open market rate narrow, a condition of Pakistan’s $7 billion IMF deal meant to discourage speculation.
“These meetings have been happening for years, but this one was more pointed,” one banker said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The central bank is expected to cut rates on Wednesday, easing inflation but risking pressure on the rupee.​


Indonesia to cut Middle East oil imports to meet Trump’s tariff deal

Updated 48 min 24 sec ago
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Indonesia to cut Middle East oil imports to meet Trump’s tariff deal

  • Saudi Arabia is among Indonesia’s top oil suppliers
  • US to impose 19% import tariff under new deal

JAKARTA: Indonesia will reduce oil and gas imports from Middle Eastern and Asian countries, Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia said, as Jakarta moves to implement its $15 billion energy deal with the US under the latest tariff agreement.

Indonesia is among three Southeast Asian countries that have struck deals with Washington so far, following negotiations with US President Donald Trump to lower tariff rates.

Jakarta has agreed to increase its imports from the US by more than $22 billion — including energy products — under the framework trade deal, while US tariffs on Indonesian imports would be set at 19 percent.

“We have agreed to buy $15 billion worth of gasoline, crude oil and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), which we will do in steps by considering its economic viability. The prices must be competitive, and now we’re designing a framework for it,” Lahadalia told reporters in Jakarta on Monday.

“We will reduce (imports) from other countries (in) the Middle East and Asia.”

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy’s oil imports were valued at about $36 billion last year.

While the US is among Indonesia’s top oil suppliers, Washington still ranks behind Singapore, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia.

The US deal, which is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks, allows Indonesia to avoid the higher tariff rate of 32 percent threatened earlier by the Trump administration.

“We know that 32 percent (tariff rate) means no trade, which basically means a trade embargo, and that means around 1 million workers in labor-intensive sectors can be impacted,” Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto said in a statement.

“What the government is doing through this cooperation with the US is to keep the internal and external balance so that we can maintain our trade balance, keep our economic momentum and ensure job creation.”

The US is Indonesia’s second-largest market after China, with exports valued at over $26 billion in 2024, according to Indonesia’s statistics agency.

Indonesia has consistently posted trade surpluses with the US in the past decade, including $16.8 billion last year.

Under the tariff agreement, Jakarta agreed to drop its tariff on nearly all American imports to zero and scrap all non-tariff barriers facing American firms, while also committing to purchase $4.5 billion worth of agricultural products from the US, including soybeans, wheat and cotton, as well as Boeing aircraft valued at $3.2 billion.