Five things to know about Indonesia-EU trade agreement

INDONESIA and the EU were to sign a trade agreement today after nearly a decade of negotiations as they seek to mitigate the effects of US President Donald Trump’ tariff policy.

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The agreement, to be signed on the resort island of Bali, will bring resource-rich Indonesia and the 27-member European bloc into closer economic ties.

It is the third trade agreement the EU has signed with southeast Asian countries, after Singapore and Vietnam.

Here are five things to know about the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa):

Indonesia has been in talks with the EU since 2016 but negotiations for a trade deal initially saw little progress.

Issues such as palm oil and deforestation posed stumbling blocks but US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariff policy “created the urgency” to expedite an agreement, said Deni Friawan, researcher at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).