Concerns about Indonesia's potential benefits from a restricted free trade agreement have been voiced by US senators, who want to prevent the Southeast Asian country's vital minerals from being indirectly subsidized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

A bipartisan group of senators contended that Chinese corporations dominate the nation's mining and refining industry in a letter written last week to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

"Given the extraordinary taxpayer resources at play, we strongly believe that eligibility for the critical minerals credit must prioritize domestic producers and existing free trade agreement partners," the legislators stated in a letter.

The senators wrote that "if expansion is deemed necessary, it should be directed toward countries with strong labor, human rights, and environmental standard." They acknowledged that Indonesia plays a strategic role in the Indo-Pacific region and has the potential to become a partner through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), and Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) are among the letter's bipartisan writers.

The Biden administration's plans to have President Joko Widodo visit the White House this month in conjunction with the Indonesian leader's attendance at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference in San Francisco are thrown off balance by the opposition.