Washington – The Computer & Communications Industry Association strongly welcomes the signing of the United States–Indonesia Agreement on Reciprocal Trade, which represents a milestone in addressing longstanding digital trade barriers in that market.
Following the initial digital trade provisions announced in the July 2025 Trade Deal — including Indonesia’s commitments to eliminate tariffs and import requirements on digital products, support a permanent WTO moratorium on customs duties on electronic transmissions, and provide certainty for cross-border data transfers to the United States — this Agreement advances robust commitments that, if faithfully maintained, would represent a significant win in securing market access for U.S. digital services and ICT exports. These include:
- Addressing existing service barriers and ensuring that, with respect to any new measures, U.S. services suppliers receive non-discriminatory treatment in the Indonesian market.
- Adopting good regulatory practices to improve transparency, predictability, and stakeholder participation.
- Refraining from imposing digital services taxes or similar measures that discriminate against U.S. companies.
- Ensuring non-discriminatory treatment of U.S. digital services, enabling cross-border data transfers, and cooperating on cybersecurity.
- Prohibiting forced technology transfer, including requirements to disclose source code, proprietary technologies, or production processes as a condition of market access.
- Maintaining duty-free treatment for electronic transmissions and supporting a permanent WTO moratorium on such duties.
- Exempting U.S. firms and products from local content requirements and removing forced domestic specification or processing mandates.
- Granting cabotage exemptions for foreign vessels installing submarine cables.
- Ensuring the viability of cross-border payment services, accepting global chip standards, and avoiding financial data localization requirements.
- Prohibiting tariffs and eliminating import declaration requirements on intangible digital products.
- Providing certainty for cross-border personal data transfers by recognizing the United States as providing adequate privacy protection.
- Refraining from requiring U.S. digital services to fund, share data with, or enter revenue-sharing arrangements with domestic news providers.
- Coordinating with the United States on secure ICT infrastructure and trusted technology suppliers.
CCIA considers this Agreement an important advancement in establishing modern, enforceable rules for the digital economy. Its wide-ranging commitments address persistent market access and regulatory barriers and will help ensure that U.S. technology and services providers can compete on a level playing field while continuing to innovate and invest in Indonesia’s growing digital market.
The following can be attributed to CCIA’s Vice President of Digital Trade, Jonathan McHale:
“This Agreement represents one of the most meaningful recent advances in digital trade policy, delivering commitments that address not only traditional barriers but also newer forms of market distortion. We commend both the United States and Indonesia for advancing innovative provisions, including commitments that no new forms of discrimination are introduced—a provision of enormous value to digital suppliers whose service offerings are constantly evolving. Also of particular note is Indonesia’s pledge not to force digital services into payment arrangements with domestic news providers–a problem in many markets, making Indonesia’s leadership on this issue commendable. By tackling these emerging challenges directly, the Agreement strengthens certainty for businesses, supports continued innovation, and reinforces the mutual benefits of open digital markets.”
