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Minister rejects House criticism over ASEAN-China FTA
The government has rejected lawmakers’ criticism of recent bilateral negotiations with China, which some hoped would postpone tariff reductions on 228 commodities under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA).
“We cannot solve problems related to the flooding of imported products and lack of competitiveness if we focus only on the postponement of tariff reduction on 228 posts,” Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said Monday.
“These constitute only 3 percent of all tariff posts included in the ACFTA and around 9 percent of imported Chinese products,” Mari told lawmakers at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission VI.
There had been no surge in imports from China since the agreement came into effect in January this year, she said.
“In the first two months, our exports to China grew 138 percent, far higher than the 55 percent growth in imports.”
In her written reports, Mari said Indonesia’s exports to China had almost doubled to US$1.07 billion in January from $580.9 million in the same month of 2009. However, Indonesia still suffered a deficit in its trade with that country .
At the 10th Indonesia-China Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Yogyakarta on April 3, the two governments agreed to implement the ACFTA as scheduled and not to postpone the application of 228 tariff-posts as had been requested by a number of Indonesian entrepreneurs.
“The special discussion on the 228 tariff posts was just part of efforts to improve competitiveness, secure the domestic market and strengthen exports,” Mari said.
In terms of textile products, for example, Indonesia could strengthen its competitiveness by developing strong cooperation with China both in investment and in the modernization of aging machinery.
“We shouldn’t see trade merely from a bilateral point of view, since it is in our national interest to develop cooperation to strengthen competitiveness,” Mari said, referring to lawmakers’ claims that the Yogyakarta meeting had failed to accommodate entrepreneurs’ objections on tariff reduction.
First, the Chinese government had been committed to providing $1.8 billion in preferential loans since 2000, of which about $1.3 billion had already been disbursed for, among others, the financing of the “Suramadu” bridge between Surabaya and Madura.
“So, we still have about $600 million we can use, for example, to develop infrastructure,” Mari said.
Second was a $1.8 million grant for capacity building and third was Private Public Partnership financing commitments by the business sectors in both countries.
Mari said Chinese and Indonesian cooperation would strengthen their abilities both in addressing the impacts of the free trade agreement as well as increasing exports.
“We cannot solve problems related to the flooding of imported products and lack of competitiveness if we focus only on the postponement of tariff reduction on 228 posts,” Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu said Monday.
“These constitute only 3 percent of all tariff posts included in the ACFTA and around 9 percent of imported Chinese products,” Mari told lawmakers at a hearing with House of Representatives Commission VI.
There had been no surge in imports from China since the agreement came into effect in January this year, she said.
“In the first two months, our exports to China grew 138 percent, far higher than the 55 percent growth in imports.”
In her written reports, Mari said Indonesia’s exports to China had almost doubled to US$1.07 billion in January from $580.9 million in the same month of 2009. However, Indonesia still suffered a deficit in its trade with that country .
At the 10th Indonesia-China Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Yogyakarta on April 3, the two governments agreed to implement the ACFTA as scheduled and not to postpone the application of 228 tariff-posts as had been requested by a number of Indonesian entrepreneurs.
“The special discussion on the 228 tariff posts was just part of efforts to improve competitiveness, secure the domestic market and strengthen exports,” Mari said.
In terms of textile products, for example, Indonesia could strengthen its competitiveness by developing strong cooperation with China both in investment and in the modernization of aging machinery.
“We shouldn’t see trade merely from a bilateral point of view, since it is in our national interest to develop cooperation to strengthen competitiveness,” Mari said, referring to lawmakers’ claims that the Yogyakarta meeting had failed to accommodate entrepreneurs’ objections on tariff reduction.
First, the Chinese government had been committed to providing $1.8 billion in preferential loans since 2000, of which about $1.3 billion had already been disbursed for, among others, the financing of the “Suramadu” bridge between Surabaya and Madura.
“So, we still have about $600 million we can use, for example, to develop infrastructure,” Mari said.
Second was a $1.8 million grant for capacity building and third was Private Public Partnership financing commitments by the business sectors in both countries.
Mari said Chinese and Indonesian cooperation would strengthen their abilities both in addressing the impacts of the free trade agreement as well as increasing exports.
