Jakarta. A senior Norwegian diplomat called on Indonesia to help maintain the global trade system as US President Donald Trump’s tariffs led to a major upheaval across the world's economies.

Norway, a country that will get hit by Trump’s 15 percent import tax, has sent its Deputy Foreign Minister Andreas Motzfeldt Kravik to Jakarta. His first order of business: marking ASEAN-Norway’s 10 years of relations. But on the sidelines of his Jakarta trip, Kravik told the press that he would be meeting representatives from Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry. As expected, the ongoing trade war and its implications became an inevitable topic.

“[We will discuss] our commitment to multilateralism, human rights, and international law. We’ll talk about the importance of sustaining and maintaining the global trade system, which is vital not just for our economy, but also for Indonesia and ASEAN,” Kravik told the press. 

US reciprocal tariffs on Norway are only about half of what Indonesia is about to get. Starting in July, goods imported from Indonesia will be subject to a 32 percent levy if they wish to enter the American market. Imports from Indonesia, Norway, and other tariff-hit countries, are bound to be more expensive for American consumers.

It only took a few weeks since the tariff announcement before Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre flew to the White House to meet Trump. Indonesia, too, is taking the diplomatic approach by sending a high-level delegation team led by senior minister Airlangga Hartarto. President Prabowo Subianto has yet to meet Trump in person since the tariff order. Amid these negotiations, the initial 10 percent baseline tariff already took effect on US-bound goods. 

Official statistics showed that Oslo was still far from being Jakarta’s main trading partner. Indonesia-Norway trade hit $370 million in 2024, only half of what they recorded the previous year. Bilateral trade had reached $732.8 million in 2023, government data showed. Indonesia posted a $236 million surplus with Norway in 2023, but ran a deficit of around $163.3 million the following year. A surplus occurs when exports exceed imports, thus generating more revenue for Indonesia. Deficit is the other way around.

Norway is part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), which also unites Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. This bloc already has a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Indonesia, a treaty that abolishes all customs duties on imports of Indonesian industrial goods, including fish and other marine products. While Kravik did not talk of this treaty, a Polish envoy recently said that he hoped businesses could take a better advantage of this trade pact.

“I hope we make better use of the [Indonesia-EFTA CEPA] agreement to increase trade relations, with or without US tariffs,” Swiss Ambassador to Indonesia Oliver Zehnder told the Jakarta Globe.