Statement of Position of Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) Rejecting the Indonesia–United States Trade Agreement: Neocolonialism and Constitutional Violations

Jakarta, 20 February 2026 – Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ) firmly rejects the “Reciprocal Trade” agreement between the Government of Indonesia and the Government of the United States, signed by President Donald J. Trump and President Prabowo Subianto. IGJ assesses that this agreement is not an equal partnership, but rather a form of economic neocolonialism that strengthens the dominance of global corporations over developing countries and threatens Indonesia’s economic sovereignty.

This agreement significantly opens Indonesia’s market to American products and corporations by eliminating tariffs on nearly all products, removing Domestic Component Level (TKDN) requirements, accepting American regulatory standards, and liberalizing data flows. These policies will deepen Indonesia’s economic dependence, weaken national industry, narrow the state’s policy space, and place pressure on farmers, workers, fishers, and micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

An Agreement for the Interests of the United States, Not Indonesia

IGJ considers that this agreement is designed to largely benefit United States corporations and the global economic elite, not necessarily the Indonesian people. The signing of various memoranda of understanding worth tens of billions of dollars in Washington indicates that the primary agenda of this deal is the expansion of American business in Indonesia’s strategic sectors.

Companies such as Freeport-McMoRan obtain certainty for expansion and the extension of mining concessions. The energy, technology, agribusiness, and industrial sectors are increasingly integrated into American supply chains through cooperation with corporations such as Halliburton and Cargill. Agreements to purchase energy, aircraft, agricultural products, cotton, and industrial raw materials from the United States have the potential to turn Indonesia into a permanent market for American exports and weaken the national industrialization agenda.

Within the critical minerals sector, Indonesia is once again positioned as a supplier of raw materials. Value addition, technology, and control remain in developed countries. This pattern prolongs the extractive model, deepens inequality, damages the environment, and triggers social conflict.

In the digital sector, data liberalization without adequate protection will strengthen the dominance of American technology companies and threaten data sovereignty, national security, and the future of Indonesia’s digital industry.

Constitutional Violations in the Indonesia–United States Trade Agreement

IGJ further asserts that this agreement also has the potential to violate the Constitution. Based on Constitutional Court Decision Number 13/PUU-XVI/2018, the Court affirmed that international agreements with broad impacts on the lives of the people, state finances, and national sovereignty must obtain approval from the House of Representatives (DPR). The DPR has the authority to assess, oversee, and even reject international agreements if they contradict the national interest. ^[1]

The Indonesia–United States trade agreement clearly meets these criteria because it:

Alters the structure of the national economy and opens strategic sectors;
Eliminates industrial policy instruments and protections for the people’s economy;
Affects labor, food, energy, digital sectors, and natural resources;
Restricts the state’s policy space in regulating national development.

If this agreement is ratified or even implemented, and subsequently approved by the House of Representatives of the Republic of Indonesia, this would clearly constitute a violation of democratic principles, checks and balances, and the mandate of Article 11 and Article 33 of the 1945 Constitution. The House of Representatives bears the constitutional responsibility to exercise critical oversight and to reject agreements that harm the national interest.

Therefore, we demand that:

The Government of Indonesia must cancel the Indonesia–United States trade agreement that harms the people and national sovereignty.
Urge the Government to halt all processes of ratification and implementation.
Urge the DPR RI to carry out its constitutional mandate independently, critically, and transparently in rejecting the United States–Indonesia trade agreement because it contradicts the national interest and violates the Constitution.
Call on social movements, labor unions, farmers, fishers, academics, and civil society to unite against economic neocolonialism.
Call for Global South solidarity to resist corporate dominance within the global trading system.

Indonesia is not a colony. Economic sovereignty, natural resources, and the future of the nation must not be sacrificed for geopolitical interests and global corporations.

Related IGJ publications can be accessed at the following links: