Indonesia, Japan to start preliminary FTA talks<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia and Japan are scheduled to hold a two-day meeting to
\ndiscuss a possible bilateral trade agreement on Monday. The
\nmeeting will serve as the initial move before starting a formal
\nrounds of negotiations, a senior official at the Ministry of
\nTrade says.<\/p>\n
"We will first explore the rules regarding import duties. We
\nwill cut our import duties and so will they," the ministry's
\ndirector general for international cooperation Pos M. Hutabarat
\ntold reporters over the weekend. Cutting or removing import
\nduties will expand market access into destination countries and
\neventually should boost trade between the two countries.<\/p>\n
The meeting will also explore the rules on labor and
\nimmigration issues, taxation, trade facilitation and investment.<\/p>\n
Pos said he expected the Japanese delegation to question
\nimmigration rules that allowed expatriates to work only for six
\nmonths, forcing them to visit Singapore to renew their working
\nvisas.<\/p>\n
Indonesia, in the meantime, would also ask for a wider access
\nfor skilled migrant workers such as drivers and nurses to travel
\nand work in Japan, he said.<\/p>\n
The meeting, formally called the Joint Study Group for Japan-
\nIndonesia Economic Partnership Agreement, will be the first of
\nthree scheduled sets of talks ahead of formal negotiations for a
\npreferential trade agreement.<\/p>\n
The second will be held in Japan in late February, while the
\nthird will be in Indonesia in late March.<\/p>\n
The meeting is expected to produce an assessment of whether or
\nnot a free trade agreement between the two countries is needed,
\nPos said, and if it turned out to be necessary, to decide when
\nnegotiations will start.<\/p>\n
Although Pos could not say when would a Japan-Indonesia FTA
\nwould be established, he expected negotiations to be wrapped up
\nin eight months based on the Philippines experience.<\/p>\n
Neighboring countries have moved faster than Indonesia in
\npursuing FTAs with Japan. Singapore and the Philippines have
\nalready finished their negotiations, but only the city-state has
\nactually signed an agreement.<\/p>\n
Negotiations with Thailand and Malaysia have yet to be
\nconcluded and are currently stalled on the issues of agriculture
\nand investment respectively, Pos said.<\/p>\n
The joint study group will involve stakeholders from the
\nprivate sector, academics, government institutions such as the
\nMinistry of Agriculture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of
\nMaritime Affairs and Fisheries, and Ministry of Forestry.<\/p>\n
During Monday's meeting, Pos will be accompanied by his expert
\nadvisor, Halida Miljani, who is a former Indonesian Ambassador to
\nthe World Trade Organization.<\/p>\n
The meeting is also a follow-up to a previous agreement
\nentered into by Japanese Minister for the Economy, Trade and
\nIndustry Shoichi Nakagawa and Indonesian Minister for Trade Mari
\nE. Pangestu in December, as well as a January deal between
\nJapanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Nobutaka Machimura and Vice
\nPresident Jusuf Kalla.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-japan-to-start-preliminary-fta-talks-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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