‘Startling’: EU accused of sacrificing forests for trade deal with Indonesia

Barely had the ink dried on a long-awaited trade pact between the European Union and Indonesia before Brussels proposed another one-year delay to its long-awaited anti-deforestation law.

The move drew fierce criticism from environmental groups, who see the move as a capitulation to global trade interests.

On September 23, the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA), set to take effect in 2027, was concluded after nearly a decade of negotiation.

The agreement, praised as “historic” by both sides, will eliminate tariffs on more than 98 per cent of goods traded between the two economies and nearly 99 per cent of the value of imports, according to Indonesia’s coordinating minister of economic affairs, Airlangga Hartarto.

Indonesian exports – ranging from palm oil and textiles to seafood and critical minerals – are expected to gain unprecedented access to EU markets, potentially boosting Indonesia’s gross domestic product by as much as US$2.8 billion annually.