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Indonesia Calls For Rewrite of Free Trade Pact With China
January 13, 2010
Indonesia has asked to re-write a new regional trade pact with China, citing fears of job losses due to a flood of cheap Chinese imports across various sectors, officials said Wednesday.
The government has sought to maintain 228 tariff lines for another two years rather than cut them as required under the Asean-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which Jakarta first signed in 2002 and took full effect on January 1.
“The letter of notification on negotiations to discuss modifications to the 228 tariff items was submitted on December 31,” Trade Ministry official Gusmardi Bustami said.
Trade Minister Mari Pangestu has refused to comment on the pact and would not confirm that a formal request for further protection had been sent to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“I won’t comment on the notification letter. I’ve informally discussed the 228 tariff items with Asean,” she told reporters in response to repeated requests for clarification of Indonesia’s position.
She had previously said only that Indonesia would honour its commitments under the free trade pact.
Industry ministry spokesman Muhdori said a two-year reprieve from zero tariffs was required in sectors including electronics, machinery, furniture, steel, textiles and chemicals.
Asean officials have said it would be strange for Indonesia, which has the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, to try to back out of its commitments at such a late date.
Any such request for a delay in tariff reductions would go against ASEAN’s long-standing drive toward more open regional markets and would require the agreement of the nine other Asean members, which is unlikely.
The ACFTA comprises a market of 1.9 billion people, making it the largest trade pact in the world in terms of population size.
January 13, 2010
Indonesia has asked to re-write a new regional trade pact with China, citing fears of job losses due to a flood of cheap Chinese imports across various sectors, officials said Wednesday.
The government has sought to maintain 228 tariff lines for another two years rather than cut them as required under the Asean-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which Jakarta first signed in 2002 and took full effect on January 1.
“The letter of notification on negotiations to discuss modifications to the 228 tariff items was submitted on December 31,” Trade Ministry official Gusmardi Bustami said.
Trade Minister Mari Pangestu has refused to comment on the pact and would not confirm that a formal request for further protection had been sent to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“I won’t comment on the notification letter. I’ve informally discussed the 228 tariff items with Asean,” she told reporters in response to repeated requests for clarification of Indonesia’s position.
She had previously said only that Indonesia would honour its commitments under the free trade pact.
Industry ministry spokesman Muhdori said a two-year reprieve from zero tariffs was required in sectors including electronics, machinery, furniture, steel, textiles and chemicals.
Asean officials have said it would be strange for Indonesia, which has the biggest economy in Southeast Asia, to try to back out of its commitments at such a late date.
Any such request for a delay in tariff reductions would go against ASEAN’s long-standing drive toward more open regional markets and would require the agreement of the nine other Asean members, which is unlikely.
The ACFTA comprises a market of 1.9 billion people, making it the largest trade pact in the world in terms of population size.
