Indonesia and Canada began negotiating the Indonesia-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (I-Ca CEPA) in June 2021. After 10 rounds of negotiations, the two countries announced the achievement of a substantive agreement on November 15, 2024, witnessed by President Prabowo Subianto and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa on September 24, 2025.The I-Ca CEPA includes substantial tariff liberalization (eliminating >95% of tariffs on Canadian exports and 90% of tariffs on Indonesian exports) and broader market access for goods, services, and investment. The government estimates that the I-Ca CEPA will boost Indonesian exports to Canada to US$11.8 billion by 2030 and increase Indonesia’s GDP growth by approximately 0.12%.
However, various groups note that the economic impact is relatively small compared to GDP (for example, the Canadian government projects an increase in their GDP of only 0.012% until 2040 due to this CEPA).The I-Ca CEPA agreement is touted as a new pillar in bilateral economic relations, promising increased market access for Indonesian commodities and the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).Foreign Direct Investment(FDI) from Canada. Since the negotiations began, a momentum of optimism has been building among governments on both sides. However, behind this economic optimism lies the Investment Chapter in the I-Ca CEPA, which has revitalized the situation.“old threat” against state sovereignty, namely the mechanism for investors to sue a state in international arbitration, or known asInvestor-State Dispute Settlement(ISDS), which is controversial and can strip away national sovereignty.