“We are not publicizing it too loudly because of the sensitivity for our partners,” a senior EU official told POLITICO. The official was granted anonymity to speak freely, as were others quoted in this piece. “You asked the question, so I’m answering — but we didn’t want this in the headlines.”
Behind the scenes, EU negotiators describe a tense balancing act — securing commercial wins for European exporters while treading carefully around Indonesia’s strict cultural and religious stance on alcohol.
“Some delegates on the other side were like, ‘I’m risking my life doing this deal,’” said another EU official, describing how their counterparts asked to avoid publicizing the alcohol-related provisions and omit them completely in any form of communication.
A quiet uncorking
The quotas are modest — 1,985 tonnes for wine and 400 tonnes for spirits — and come with a duty of 5 percent. But in a country where alcohol imports have long been taboo, even this incremental market access marks a symbolic shift.
The deal was struck using tariff rate quotas (TRQs), which allow a fixed volume of goods to enter at lower tariffs, with higher rates of 90 percent on wine and 150 percent on spirits kicking in beyond that threshold.
While the quotas themselves are small, they represent a long-sought entry point into Indonesia for European producers.