Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, in an interview with NewsNation on Sept. 27, sounded like a colonial proconsul lecturing his colonies. Lutnick said that the United States has “a bunch of countries to fix, like Switzerland, Brazil, India. These are countries that need to really react correctly to America. Open their markets, stop taking actions that harm America, and that’s why we’re off sides with them,” Press Trust of India reported, on Sept. 28.
Indonesia is also in the crosshairs to be “fixed” to serve “America First” commercial interests. The U.S. Department of Agriculture explained this in its Sept. 26 news release, soliciting U.S. commercial interests (food processors, shippers, farmer representatives) to sign up for the U.S. trade mission to Jakarta in February 2026, to gain “market access.”
Under a proposed trade agreement, “Indonesia would eliminate tariffs on more than 99% of U.S. products and address long-standing barriers to U.S. agricultural trade, opening doors to expanded market access in the world’s fourth-largest country.”
