Indonesian President Joko Widodo and U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris ride on an escalator during the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, September 6, 2023.
REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan/Pool Acquire Licensing RightsJAKARTA, Sept 7 (Reuters) - Indonesia has asked the United States to begin talks on a trade deal for critical minerals so that exports from the Southeast Asian country can be covered under the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, an Indonesian ministry said on Thursday.
Indonesia does not have a free trade agreement with the United States, but the resource-rich country has ambitions to become a major player in the manufacturing of EVs and their batteries, leveraging its vast nickel reserves.
"Indonesia invites the U.S. to discuss the formation of the Critical Mineral Agreement," Jokowi added.
Harris, during the opening speech of the bilateral meeting, said she would continue to work with Indonesia to build supply chains that included "critical minerals required to expand our clean energy economies" and to boost trade between the two countries through IPEF.
Persons:
Joko Widodo, Kamala Harris, Willy Kurniawan, EVs, Jokowi, Luhut Pandjaitan, Harris, Gayatri Suroyo, Kanupriya Kapoor
Organizations:
ASEAN Summit, REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, Economic, EV, IPEF, Thomson
Locations:
Jakarta, Indonesia, Rights JAKARTA, United States, Washington, North America, U.S, Indonesian, Japan