Indonesia to shift LPG imports from Middle East to US

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia is planning to reduce its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) imports from the Middle East and increase procurement from the United States, according to Deputy Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM), Yuliot Tanjung. 

"We might switch our sources of LPG from the Middle East to the United States,” he told reporters in Jakarta on Friday. 

According to Statistics Indonesia, the country imported 1.2 million tons of LPG under HS code 27111200 (liquefied propane) from Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates last year, worth approximately US$714.73 million. 

By contrast, Indonesia imported 1.97 million tons of LPG from the US during the same period, valued at around US$1 billion. 

Tanjung noted that the shift is part of Indonesia’s broader plan to procure US$15.5 billion worth of energy products, including crude oil, from the US — up from US$4.2 billion in 2024 — to help rebalance bilateral trade. 

The move is aimed at supporting ongoing trade negotiations and avoiding a proposed 32 percent reciprocal tariff on Indonesian exports to the US. 

Citing a regional example, Tanjung said that Vietnam was able to negotiate a reduction in its reciprocal tariffs from 46 percent to 20 percent by rebalancing trade with the US. 

"Indonesia will take the same path by pursuing balance in bilateral trade," he affirmed. 

The effort follows US President Donald Trump’s April 2 announcement of higher import tariffs on products from several countries, including Indonesia. 

In response, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto sent a delegation, led by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, to Washington to seek a mutually beneficial solution. Several rounds of negotiations have taken place since.