Report: U.S.-Indonesia Minerals Deal Threatens Sovereignty, Labor Rights, and the Environment
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A new report released today by Public Citizen and Indonesian environmental organization Satya Bumi exposes how the Trump administration has used the threat of sweeping tariffs to force Indonesia to accept an “agreement” that threatens to dismantle its hard-won progress toward reclaiming control of its mineral wealth — while allowing labor abuses, environmental destruction, and corporate impunity to continue.
The report documents the dire human rights, labor, health, and environmental impacts in the communities where nickel is mined and processed, with moving first-hand testimonies. Trump’s “framework deal” with Indonesia threatens to eliminate key industrial policy tools that Indonesia has used to develop its economy, and it lacks any enforceable protections for labor rights, the environment, or Indigenous communities.
“This deal is a blueprint for stripping resource-rich Global South countries of policy options to protect their people and build a fair economy,” said Iza Camarillo, Research Director at Public Citizen. “By giving U.S. corporations sweeping access while curbing Indonesia’s right to regulate foreign investors, the Trump administration is locking in a model of neocolonial extraction that sidelines workers, weakens environmental safeguards, and sacrifices democratic oversight for corporate gain.”
The analysis highlights that these trade deals, negotiated in secret, often impose obligations only on Global South countries while giving the U.S. free rein. This asymmetry threatens Indonesia’s ability to govern its resources, assert labor and environmental standards, and pursue industrial policies that benefit its citizens.
Key recommendations include:
- Develop sustainable, value-added industries such as recycling, refining, and circular-economy production instead of relying on raw mineral extraction.
- Strengthen environmental protections to prevent deforestation, water contamination, and biodiversity loss linked to nickel mining and processing.
- Protect workers through enforceable labor standards, stronger workplace safety requirements, and independent monitoring.
- Ensure community participation and consent in decisions around land use, mine permitting, and environmental impact assessments.
- Mandate transparency and accountability across the EV supply chain, including emissions reporting, waste management, and corporate compliance.
- Require global automakers and battery producers to meet high environmental and human-rights standards before sourcing from Indonesia.
Today’s report is the second in a series of detailing the implications of bilateral agreements on critical minerals. See the previous report on cobalt mining in the Democratic Republic of the Congo here.
It also follows the release this week of a set of recommendations on critical minerals agreements endorsed by 35+ organizations, including Climate Rights International, Earthworks, Friends of the Congo, Global Witness, Mighty Earth, Plug in America, Public Citizen, Satya Bumi, and Sierra Club.