95% of RI's tariffs already in line with AFTA: Official<\/p>\n
Adianto P.Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government said on Thursday that the country could no
\nlonger delay the full implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area
\n(AFTA) as most of its tariffs had been reduced to comply with the
\nregional free trade arrangement.<\/p>\n
Director general for international cooperation at the Ministry
\nof Industry and Trade Hatanto Reksodiputro said that 95 percent
\nof the country's tariffs in the "Inclusion List" had been lowered
\nto between 0 percent and 5 percent.<\/p>\n
Under the AFTA scheme, which would start early next year, the
\nsix founding members of ASEAN -- Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore,
\nThailand, Brunei Darussalam and the Philippines -- had to cut at
\nleast 90 percent of their tariffs to 0 percent to 5 percent in
\n2001.<\/p>\n
By the year 2002, 100 percent of items on the inclusion list
\nwould have import tariffs of 0 percent to five percent, but with
\nsome flexibility.<\/p>\n
"We can't back down, it will be useless ... We also have many
\nstrong products (to compete with foreign products)," Hatanto
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN) earlier demanded
\nthe government delay the adoption of the AFTA scheme, as some "27
\npercent" of the local products were not yet ready to compete
\nunder the free trade regulations.<\/p>\n
According to KADIN's survey, these products included coffee,
\nsteel, pipes, sugar, rice, machinery, electrical appliances,
\naluminum foil, cables, oil and gas products, paint and varnish
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
But Hatanto played down the concern, saying that many local
\nbusinesses were ready to compete with their regional peers, and
\nhe also doubted the validity of KADIN's findings.<\/p>\n
"For next year, there will be only 66 products that are still
\nsubject to an import tariff of more than 5 percent, mostly
\nchemical products," Hatanto said.<\/p>\n
Data from the ASEAN secretariat showed that Indonesia's total
\ntariffs under the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT)
\nagreement covered 7,286 items.<\/p>\n
It consisted of some 7,192 items on the Inclusion List (IL),
\n21 on the Temporary Exclusion List (TEL), 4 on the Sensitive List
\n(SL) and 68 on the General Exception List (GEL).<\/p>\n
AFTA was agreed upon in 1993, with the implementation of the
\nfree trade scheme initially scheduled for 2008. The
\nimplementation date was later brought forward to 2003.<\/p>\n
At a meeting in December 1998 in Hanoi, Vietnam, the ASEAN
\neconomic ministers later sped up the deadline to 2002, with some
\nflexibility.<\/p>\n
The four new ASEAN members of Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and
\nMyanmar are allowed to delay the opening up of their markets to
\n2006 to 2010.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/95-of-ris-tariffs-already-in-line-with-afta-official-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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