Govt to review authority of Tariff Team<\/p>\n
Zakki P. Hakim
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government is reviewing which ministry should have the
\nauthority to determine trade-related fiscal policies such as
\nimport duties in an effort to maximize the use of the "injury
\nclause" to curtail the excesses of trade liberalization, a senior
\nofficial said.<\/p>\n
Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu said that the government
\nrealized that there should be a better coordination between
\nministries, to enable the country to continue to embrace free
\ntrade and at the same time protect some of its industries and
\njobs against imports by using the injury clause permitted under
\nthe World Trade Organization rulings.<\/p>\n
"We want to fix this. But the question remains, who should
\nhold the authority, is it the Minister of Finance or the
\nCoordinating Minister for Economy," Mari told the press last
\nweek.<\/p>\n
Conceptually, the Coordinating Minister for Economy should
\nhave the final say, but the ministry which has the capacity to
\nanalyze a certain issue should be taken into consideration, said
\nMari.<\/p>\n
"For trade-related issues, the Ministry of Trade should have
\nthe right to analyze them and come up with a conclusion," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
However, she suggested that the country might want to adopt
\nthe practices of other countries, such as Australia, where it had
\na Productivity Commission which conducted an objective analysis
\nand came up with suggestions.<\/p>\n
The commission then consulted with legislators on the
\nadvantages and the disadvantages of a trade measure before
\npassing a final decision.<\/p>\n
"We might be moving toward that kind of procedure. But it
\nrequires further discussion with fellow Cabinet members, so in
\nthe future we could deliver a consistent policy for the sake of
\nnational interests," she said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia can continue to embrace free trade and at the same
\ntime protect some of its industries -- and jobs too -- against
\nimports by using the injury clause permitted under the WTO
\nrulings. It is something that Indonesia had not applied optimally
\nin the past while other countries, including the U.S. and Europe,
\ninvoked them freely in the name of protecting national interests.<\/p>\n
Industry players as well as government trade officials have
\nlong complained that the injury clauses could not be applied
\neffectively due to problems at the Ministry of Finance.<\/p>\n
The government has set up the Indonesian Anti-Dumping
\nCommittee (KADI) and Indonesian Trade Safeguard Committee (KPPI)
\nthat would determine which sectors should be protected using
\ntemporary tariff barriers upon inputs from injured domestic
\nindustries, which have suffered from the massive inflow of
\ncheaper imported products.<\/p>\n
The two committees then proposed the tariff measure to an
\ninter-ministerial Tariff Team, which would have the final say
\nwhether or not to impose a higher entry duty.<\/p>\n
The team, now chaired by the Minister of Finance, however,
\nmost of the time found it necessary to re-analyze recommendations
\nfrom the two committees, which creates further delay, while the
\nindustry cries foul over unfair competition from cheap imports.<\/p>\n
In several cases, the team took more than a year to finally
\ngive the decision, which sometimes meant it was too late, said a
\ntrade official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n
He said that Minister of Trade should hold the chairmanship,
\nas the role of the Tariff Team was crucial for the country in
\ncountering the excesses of trade liberalization.<\/p>\n
According to him, during the early days of WTO in the mid
\n1990s it was minister of industry and trade Tungky Ariwibowo who
\nchaired the team.<\/p>\n
Separately, the Ministry's director general for international
\ncooperation Pos M. Hutabarat said that the two independent
\ncommittees were not effective considering their weak legal basis.<\/p>\n
The KADI was based on the Customs Law while KPPI was based
\nonly on a presidential decree on trade safeguard measures, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
The ministry was currently working on a trade bill, which
\nwould give a stronger legal basis for the two committees, said
\nPos.<\/p>",
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