If I Were Negotiating With Washington
In today’s shifting world order, where global trade is being redefined and alliances are tested, one question becomes urgent:
What would you say if you were face-to-face with Trump at the negotiating table?
This article imagines that moment—written as a letter to President Donald Trump from Indonesia’s point of view.
Why Indonesia? Because it shares surprising similarities with the U.S.: it’s large, democratic, pluralistic, grounded in faith in God, and guided by the motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika—“Unity in Diversity,” echoing E Pluribus Unum.
Penned by our Chief Investment Officer, Eduardus Christmas, this is a thought experiment—an imagined version of how Indonesia could have negotiated with President Trump: clear in its demands, strategic in its offers, and grounded in economic interest.
The context matters. Following Trump’s Liberation Day tariff announcement and the release of the 2025 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers (USTR link), countries across the globe began seeking new terms and reassessing their alignment with the U.S.
This letter offers one possible version of how Indonesia might have entered that conversation—decisively and on its own terms.
He began drafting this letter several weeks ago—yet the topics it touches, from EV policy to defense cooperation and investment strategy, have become strikingly relevant to recent headlines.
Originally published in the Independent Observer, an English-language weekly newspaper offering in-depth analyses of Indonesia's political and economic landscape.
Enjoy the read.
