In Indonesia vs Apple, is victory a double-edged sword?

Last October, Jakarta banned the sale of the new iPhone 16, citing Apple’s failure to meet local content requirements that mandated a certain percentage of components or production processes originate within Indonesia.

Despite this, negotiations stalled, and the Ministry of Industry upheld the ban while discussions continued for more favourable terms for both parties.

Last month, both sides agreed on a US$300 million investment plan, which would include a software research-and-development centre near Jakarta, as well as plants that would produce components for Apple products such as AirPods.

On Friday, the industry ministry announced that the government had restarted issuing local-content certificates for Apple products. There is still no date set on when iPhone 16s will be sold in the country.