Trump Tariff Threat on Iran Partners Draws Calm Response From Indonesia

JAKARTA, Investortrust.id — Indonesia dismisses the risk from President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 25 percent tariff on countries doing business with Iran on Tuesday, Jan 13, 2026 in Jakarta, citing the country’s minimal trade exposure to Tehran and the far larger scale of its commerce with the United States, a stance officials say limits any potential economic fallout. The position underscored Jakarta’s confidence that the proposed measure would have no material effect on Indonesia’s trade relations or broader economic outlook.

Coordinating Economic Affairs Minister Airlangga Hartarto said Indonesia saw no reason for concern, stressing that bilateral trade with Iran remained marginal by comparison with Indonesia’s main trading partners.

“There is no concern,” Airlangga said when asked about the potential impact, adding that Indonesia’s transactions with Iran were “not large.”

Trade data from the Ministry of Trade showed Indonesia–Iran commerce totaled about $206.9 million annually, with exports of $195.1 million and imports of $11.7 million, and had trended lower over the past five years.

By contrast, Indonesia’s trade with the United States stood at roughly $34.5 billion, including $23.2 billion in exports and $11.2 billion in imports, while trade in the January to May 2025 period alone reached $17.14 billion with double digit growth.

On that basis, trade with Iran represented only about 0.51 percent of Indonesia’s trade volume with the United States, a proportion officials described as too small to trigger serious risk from any retaliatory tariff measures.

Trump earlier warned on his Truth Social platform that any country continuing business with Iran would face a 25 percent tariff on all trade with the United States, declaring the policy immediate and final, although the White House has yet to detail its implementation.

The move was widely viewed as part of Washington’s broader effort to economically isolate Iran amid ongoing domestic unrest there, even as uncertainty remains over how broadly and swiftly such tariffs could be enforced.

Indonesia’s measured response also came as it advanced its own trade talks with Washington, with Airlangga recently meeting U.S. negotiators in Jakarta to finalize reciprocal tariff discussions.

“Overall, the issues have been resolved,” Airlangga said after those talks, noting that legal drafting was expected to take five to seven days in Washington before the agreement could be finalized.