Indonesia to Allow Personal Data Transfer to United States

Indonesia has agreed to provide certainty regarding the transfer of personal data to the United States as part of broader efforts to remove barriers to digital trade. 

The agreement is one of the several key points outlined in the agreement on reciprocal trade, jointly issued by the US and Indonesia, and announced by the White House on its official website on Tuesday. 
 

“Indonesia will provide certainty regarding the ability to move personal data out of its territory to the United States through recognition of the United States as a country or jurisdiction that provides adequate data protection under Indonesia’s law,” the White House said in the statement, which was accessed from Jakarta on Wednesday. 
 

The White House added that the United States and Indonesia will finalize commitments on digital trade, services, and investment. 
 

Indonesia has committed to eliminating existing harmonized tariff schedule (HTS) tariff lines on “intangible products,” suspending related requirements on import declarations, and supporting a permanent moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions at the World Trade Organization (WTO) immediately and without conditions. 
 

Indonesia will also take effective actions to implement the Joint Initiative on Services Domestic Regulation, including submitting its revised specific commitments for certification by the World Trade Organization (WTO). 
 

The White House said that American companies have sought these digital trade reforms for years. 
 

In addition to the agreement to remove barriers to digital trade, both countries have also agreed on a number of other commitments, including eliminating tariff barriers, breaking down non-tariff barriers for US industrial exports, and expanding market access for US agricultural products by addressing non-tariff barriers. 
 

The two nations will also strengthen rules of origin, align on economic security, improve labor standards, and unlock commercial deals. 
 

The provisions outlined in the trade agreement between Indonesia and the United States are a follow-up to the 19 percent import tariff announced by US President Donald Trump on Indonesian products. 
 

Trump said that the landmark trade deal would provide Americans with market access to Indonesia, which was once considered impossible, and unlock major breakthroughs for America’s manufacturing, agriculture, and digital sectors. 
 

The United States currently runs its fifteenth-largest goods trade deficit with Indonesia. The US’ total goods trade deficit with Indonesia stood at US$17.9 billion in 2024. 
 

Before the deal, Indonesia’s simple average applied tariff was 8 percent, while the US average applied tariff was 3.3 percent. 

Source: Antara News 

Indonesia Targets Foreign Investment with New AI Roadmap, Official Says

Indonesia will finish work next month on its first national strategy on artificial intelligence in a bid to attract foreign investment, an official said, as Southeast Asia's largest economy looks to join the global AI and chip-making race. 

The move follows neighbouring Malaysia's push to establish itself as a regional hub for AI development, securing billions of dollars from global tech firms seeking to build critical infrastructure to meet growing demand for cloud and AI services. 

Indonesia's AI roadmap will be the first comprehensive AI document in the country, the fourth largest in the world by population, since a smaller ethics guideline in 2023, Deputy Minister of Communications and Digital Nezar Patria told Reuters in an interview at his office on Monday. 

"The roadmap will help AI developers navigate (Indonesia's market), including on infrastructure and also on computational clusters," he said, adding that it would detail AI adoption in sectors such as health and agriculture. 

Nezar said the roadmap was designed to establish the country's AI ecosystem. 

"This will give an idea to investors about the potential of AI use in Indonesia," he said. "We're hoping they are interested in investing their capital in Indonesia." 

An April report by Boston Consulting Group said ASEAN nations were positioned for substantial AI-driven gains, with GDP contributions ranging from 2.3% to 3.1% by 2027, and Indonesia projected to see the highest impact in terms of absolute gross domestic output growth. 

But despite some investments, development has been slow in Indonesia compared to other parts of the region. 

Nvidia was involved with Indonesia's biggest tech company GoTo Gojek Tokopedia for a large language model service last year, and supplied its chips to the telecommunications company Indosat. 

Microsoft also said last year it would invest $1.7 billion over the next few years into expanding cloud services and AI in Indonesia. 

"We're opening up to all global tech companies to get into the industry of AI development in Indonesia," Nezar said. 

 
Source: Reuters 

Bali to Ban Production of Plastic Sachet in 2026
 

The Bali provincial administration plans to ban the production of small plastic packaging, or sachet, starting in 2026 as a response to suggestions from environmentalists after banning the production of under-1-liter bottled water.  

“I support it fully. This has been through studies on the small-size sachets, whether it [the ban] will be decided this year or next year [in 2026],” Bali Vice Governor I Nyoman Giri Prasta said in Denpasar on Tuesday, as quoted by detik.com.  

Giri said the provincial administration was still focusing on the ban of bottled water first. He added there was a possibility that a ban on other plastic packaging would come in 2026.  

“We have discussed this, there will be a decision later,” he said.  

The former Badung regency head said that Bali Governor Wayan Koster was very wise in banning plastic packaging. The decision would still allow French company Danone to use up the bottled water production that has already been distributed.  

“It means being visionary, [so that] our descendants [can] see Bali clean and green,” the politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle said. 
 

Previously, the Nusantara River Research Agency (BRUIN) suggested that Koster also target other plastic packaging, not only banning bottled water.  

BRUIN coordinator for waste census, Muhammad Kholif Basyaiban, said the Bali provincial administration had to refer to Law No. 18/2008 on Waste Management, which stipulates the responsibility of producers in waste processing.  

There are also other regulations such as Environmental and Forestry Ministerial Decree No. 75/2019.  

“The reference for circulars, government regulation, provincial bylaws and gubernatorial regulations is the Waste Management Law and the ministerial decree, which do not discriminate certain [kinds of] plastic waste but all kinds of plastics,” Kholif said in a written statement on Monday.  

In 2024, Bali produced 1.2 million tonnes of plastic waste, according to the National Waste Management Information System.  

Plastic Fairness  

Separately, two bottled water producers in Bali expressed objections to the ban on producing and distributing bottled water in containers less than 1 liter as stipulated by Bali Gubernatorial Circular No. 9/2025 on Clean Bali Movement.  

“Environmental conservation policy in Bali is indeed important [and] urgent but cannot be applied unilaterally without a dialogue mechanism and legal protection for local businesses,” CV Tirta Taman Bali president director I Gde Wiradhitya Samuhata said on Monday.  

Wiradhitya said the objection was accompanied by the company’s official stance and legal analysis on the gubernatorial circular.  

“We have compiled a juridical analysis and will send the official stance to the Aspadin [Indonesian Bottled Water Association] central executive board in Jakarta as a constructive contribution to manage the relations between businesses, customary society and regional policy,” he said, as quoted by Antara news agency.  

He revealed that Balinese bottled water companies considered customary villages not only as partners but the soul of their businesses. He also agreed with environmental conservation efforts but said the solution should focus on waste management instead of banning plastic packaging production. 
 

He said the Bali administration should shift from symbolic banning to reform the waste management system based on recycling incentives, public education and producers’ responsibilities.  

Meanwhile, president director of PT Tirta Mumbul Jaya Abadi, Nyoman Arta Widyana, said that instead of only banning bottled water under 1 liter, the provincial administration should also ban all plastic packaging to be fair.  

“For example, when we want to buy cooking oil, sugar, coffee and candy, all these items use plastic. But it seems that only we [bottled water producers] are blamed for causing plastic waste,” he said.  

Arta said it was not fair if the problem of plastic waste was only blamed on bottled water producers when they already used PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and PP (polypropylene) cups which could be easily recycled 
 

Source: The Jakarta Post