Washington | Reuters –– Indonesian President Joko Widodo, speaking after a meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday, said his country intends to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal the U.S. has forged with Canada and 10 other countries.
“We are the largest economy in Southeast Asia,” Widodo said through a translator. “And Indonesia intends to join the TPP.”
U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman said the U.S. would keep sharing information about the TPP, which will set common standards on issues ranging from workers’ rights to intellectual property protection.
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“As we have said from the beginning, TPP is intended to be an open platform to which other countries who are able and willing to meet the standards can potentially accede,” he said at a business summit hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
More broadly, Indonesia had work to do on cutting red tape, addressing barriers such as local content and local packaging requirements, eliminating import and export restrictions and protecting intellectual property rights, Froman said.
The two leaders also discussed climate change, strengthening Indonesia’s maritime security powers and forest fires in Indonesia.
The Indonesian government said earlier on Monday that Widodo would be cutting short his trip to the U.S. in order to address the “haze crisis” caused by forest fires.
Widodo linked the fires to the effects of climate change felt by Indonesia.
— Reporting for Reuters by Julia Edwards and Roberta Rampton in Washington; additional reporting by Krista Hughes.
