Trump announces new trade deal with Indonesia and cuts tariff

US President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Indonesia on Tuesday, saying it agreed to pay a 19 per cent tariff on its exports and pledged to buy American goods.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said Indonesia would supply the US with critical minerals and planned to purchase Boeing aircraft and farming products.

“This Deal is a huge win for our automakers, tech companies, workers, farmers, ranchers and manufacturers,” Mr Trump wrote.

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The deal comes as Indonesia was facing a 32 per cent tariff on exports to the US, starting from August 1. US officials said the agreement ensured some tariffs remained on Indonesia, which has a population of about 280 million.

“The deal is significant,” one official told journalists on a call. “It opens new markets for us, exports, reaffirms US digital leadership and it eliminates non-tariff barriers on US exports.”

The official added that Indonesia would drop its tariffs “to zero on over 99 per cent of its trade” with the US and would also eliminate all non-tariff barriers.

The deal solidifies Mr Trump’s strategy of using the threat of high tariff rates to extract concessions from trade partners under his America First approach. It may serve as a blueprint for agreements with other nations.

He also announced a new 19 per cent tariff rate for goods from the Philippines, the country's President Ferdinand Marcos Jr visited the White House.

“It was a beautiful visit and we concluded our trade deal, whereby the Philippines is going open market with the United States, and zero tariffs. The Philippines will pay a 19 per cent tariff,” Mr Trump said. He called Mr Marcos a “very good and tough negotiator".

US President Donald Trump and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Bloomberg

In April, Mr Trump announced a blanket 10 per cent tariff on almost all trading partners, while imposing higher levies on other countries with trade deficits.

Mr Trump, who took office in January, had framed his so-called reciprocal tariff policy as a way to reduce deficits the US has with its trading partners.

The US official said the agreement with Indonesia was worth at least $50 billion to the country in new market access, as well as purchases by Indonesian companies, including liquefied natural gas and farm commodities.

The US had a goods trade deficit of $17.9 billion with the country last year, according to the Office of the US Trade Representative. That was a 5.4 per cent increase from 2023.

While US exports to Indonesia increased by 3.7 per cent to $10.2 billion last year, imports rose by 4.8 per cent.

Mr Trump's efforts to reformat US trade has also come with great uncertainty and course reversals. The President said he would quickly reach trade deals with nations, but only Indonesia, the UK and Vietnam have announced agreements. Mr Trump has secured a “trade truce” with China, which has a separate deadline.

Earlier this month, trade letters went out to more than a dozen countries, with threats of tariff rates ranging from 20 to 50 per cent.

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Winners

Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)

Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)

Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)

Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)

Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)

Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)

Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)

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Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Kumulus Water

Started: 2021

Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid

Based: Tunisia

Sector: Water technology

Number of staff: 22

Investment raised: $4 million

French business

France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.

No more lice

Defining head lice

Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.

Identifying lice

Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.

Treating lice at home

Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.

Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital

Russia's Muslim Heartlands

Dominic Rubin, Oxford

'Worse than a prison sentence'

Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.

“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.

“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.

“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.

“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.

“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”

Company Fact Box

Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.