European Union president Ursula von der Leyen and Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto on Sunday announced a “political agreement” to finalise a long-anticipated free trade deal, as US President Donald Trump disrupts global trade with sweeping tariff threats.“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.
