[CTC] Indonesia Critical Minerals Agreement Watch

[Arthur Stamoulis]

Two clips below….

Politico Pro

INDONESIA CRITICAL MINERALS AGREEMENT WATCH: The United States and Indonesia could announce plans next week to negotiate a critical minerals agreement, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said Tuesday.

That would allow batteries containing critical minerals from Indonesia to qualify for a portion of electric vehicle tax credits contained in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Erin Murphy, a senior fellow in CSIS’s Asia program, noted that Indonesia has been pushing for negotiations on a critical minerals agreement with the United States, either bilaterally or as part of the IPEF talks. That could set the stage for an announcement when Indonesian President Joko Widodo is in San Francisco next week for the APEC leaders summit, Murphy said.

After Murphy’s remarks, the White House announced Biden would host Widodo at the White House on Monday, providing another opportunity for a possible announcement.

“The leaders will explore opportunities to enhance cooperation on the clean energy transition, advance economic prosperity, bolster regional peace and stability, and reinforce our people-to-people ties,” the White House said <https://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=c55428150f55330157ca979d81b7f1ff2c0a1a455e4418211e689b44d0b63f94be6fb91ec72204b416a3eff20da6643be597617d2d4a369c>.

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Biden to host Indonesia’s president at the White House next week
Inside US Trade, November 7, 2023
President Biden next Monday will host Indonesian President Joko Widodo at the White House ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in San Francisco later in the week.

“The leaders will explore opportunities to enhance cooperation on the clean energy transition, advance economic prosperity, bolster regional peace and stability, and reinforce our people-to-people ties,” the White House said in a statement on Tuesday <https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2023/11/07/statement-from-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-on-the-bilateral-meeting-between-president-joe-biden-and-president-joko-widodo-of-indonesia/>. “The two leaders will also coordinate on efforts to reinforce [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] centrality and uphold international law and promote a free and open Indo-Pacific,” the statement adds.

The Nov. 13 meeting will come just ahead of high-level APEC meetings <https://insidetrade.com/node/178254> in San Francisco. A leaders’ plenary session is scheduled for Nov. 16-17; both presidents are slated to attend.

The seventh round of talks on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, of which Indonesia is a member, will conclude just before.

Indonesia, the world’s top nickel producer, has called on IPEF countries <https://insidetrade.com/node/177004> to include critical minerals in discussions on the framework’s trade pillar, and has been angling for a critical minerals trade pact with the U.S. that is similar to one inked with Japan.

The issue has been raised by Indonesian officials in other venues, including a foreign policy and defense dialogue with the U.S. Also, Indonesia recently attended a UK meeting <https://insidetrade.com/node/178073> of the U.S.-led Minerals Security Partnership despite not being a member.

Several U.S. lawmakers, however, oppose a U.S.-Indonesia critical minerals deal that would allow Indonesian minerals to qualify under domestic content requirements for electric vehicle tax credits outlined in the Inflation Reduction Act. Last month a bipartisan group of nine senators wrote <https://insidetrade.com/node/178202> to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and other senior administration officials urging caution and citing labor, environmental, safety and human rights concerns.

The U.S and Indonesia are scheduled to restart talks <https://insidetrade.com/node/177673> under their Trade and Investment Framework Agreement next year following a proposal from Indonesian Minister of Trade Zulkifli Hasan to revive the bilateral cooperation forum





Arthur Stamoulis
Citizens Trade Campaign
(202) 494-8826




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