Before the IEU-CEPA, Indonesia consistently had a trade surplus with the European Union.

The Indonesian and European Union governments have reached a political agreement to push for the finalization of the IEU-CEPA.

IEU-CEPA stands for Indonesia–European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, a free trade agreement that Indonesia and the European Union have been negotiating for a long time.

"Today is a very historic day for me. After 10 years of negotiations, which sometimes were quite tough—today we have achieved a breakthrough," said President Prabowo Subianto in a press release on Sunday (13/7/2025).

"We [Indonesia-EU] have agreed to sign the CEPA. We have reached many agreements that will accommodate the economic interests of each party," said Prabowo.

The European Union has been an important trading partner for Indonesia, even before the IEU-CEPA.

Over the past decade, Indonesia has consistently achieved a trade surplus with the European Union, as the value of Indonesian exports has exceeded its imports.

According to European Commission data, in 2014, Indonesia exported goods worth EUR 13.08 billion to the European Union. Meanwhile, the value of goods imported by Indonesia from the EU was only EUR 8.9 billion, resulting in a surplus of EUR 4.18 billion for Indonesia.

This trend continued until 2024, with the surplus value tending to increase, as shown in the graph.

Based on the European Commission's report, in 2024, Indonesia's main export commodity groups to the European Union were miscellaneous manufactured articles, and vegetable/animal oils and fats.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's main import commodity groups from the European Union were machinery and transport equipment, as well as chemicals and related products.

"The European Union is Indonesia's fifth-largest trading partner. Indonesia is the 33rd largest trading partner for the European Union, and the fifth-largest ASEAN trading partner for the European Union in 2024," stated the European Commission on its website.