JAKARTA, 18th May, 2025 (WAM) – Indonesia's Trade Minister Budi Santoso said he is confident that the negotiation on the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) will soon be finalised as the two parties have shown productive rounds of negotiation.
"Hopefully, we will soon reach a conclusion, given the progressive nature of the talks," he told journalists here Sunday.
The Indonesian government has set a target of completing the IEU-CEPA in the first semester of this year. "We will continue striving to finish the talks," he said as quoted by Indonesian news agency (ANTARA).
Earlier on April 29, Minister of Industry Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita argued that the IEU-CEPA would emerge as a strategic instrument for Indonesia to sustain its economic growth in light of the US government's new tariff policy.
"This agreement will become a game changer for our economic growth, particularly for the growth of our labor-intensive manufacturing sector," he told legislators during a meeting with Commission VII of the House of Representatives (DPR) in Jakarta recently.
Soon after it is made effective, he said the IEU-CEPA can allow Indonesian textile products to penetrate the European markets free of import tariffs.
"This agreement will help Indonesia boost its competitiveness," he stated.