US Seeks $350M Annual Trade Sanctions on Indonesia

Indonesia's foreign minister Retno Marsudi (L) attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Ministerial Meeting in Singapore on Aug. 2, 2018. Mohd Rasfan/AFP/Getty Images

After years of arguments at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United States wants to retaliate against Indonesia for choking American imports. But under the WTO rules, it could take years before the United States will be allowed to do so.

The Indonesian trade barriers on certain agricultural products made the United States lose up to $350 million on trade in 2017, according to an Aug. 2 WTO filing.