The Indonesian government is preparing an official response to the\ntrade investigation conducted by the United States through the Section\n301 mechanism. This follows the probe into several aspects of Indonesian\ntrade, including allegations of excess production capacity and forced\nlabour issues.<\/p>\n
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto stated that\nthe government has held an inter-ministerial meeting to formulate\nanswers to these allegations. According to him, this response is an\nimportant stage before the investigation proceeds.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, we are asked to respond, because after we respond, we\nwill submit it in the meeting, and then there will be further\ninvestigation. The important thing is that we just respond,\u201d Airlangga\nsaid at his office on Monday (13\/4).<\/p>\n
He explained that the two main issues highlighted in the US\ninvestigation concern allegations of excess production capacity and the\nuse of raw materials linked to forced labour practices. However, the\ngovernment considers several of these allegations irrelevant, especially\nwhen related to certain commodities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe discussion is about excess capacity. For example, one is excess\ncement, for instance. We never export cement to America, so we just\nanswer that,\u201d Airlangga said.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Trade Minister Budi Santoso emphasised that the government\nwill submit a response document (submission comment) by 15 this month at\nthe latest. He assured that all defence materials have been prepared and\nthat, in general, there are no issues with Indonesia\u2019s position.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo on the 15th, we must submit regarding the initiation or Section\n301 investigation. Everything has been prepared earlier; there were\ninputs, we still have time. But I think in general, there are no\nproblems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In that document, the government will assert that there are no\npolicies causing structural excess capacity in Indonesia. National\nindustrial production is said to fully follow market mechanisms.<\/p>\n
\u201cIndonesia has no policies that result in structural excess\ncapacity,\u201d Budi said.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the government will explain that Indonesia\u2019s trade\nsurplus with the US occurs due to market demand factors in the Land of\nUncle Sam, not due to domestic policy distortions.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, the forced labour issue is also a concern in this\ninvestigation. Labour Minister Yassierli emphasised that Indonesia has\nstrong labour regulations and does not tolerate such practices.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have always been very good with regard to human rights\nenforcement regulations, so there is no such thing, and we never\ntolerate forced labour in our production system,\u201d Yassierli said.<\/p>\n
He added that the questions from the US side are more directed\ntowards Indonesia\u2019s policies in banning imports of products originating\nfrom forced labour practices, rather than direct accusations against\npractices domestically.<\/p>\n
The next process after submitting the document is a public hearing\nand further consultations. The government stated it is ready to follow\nall those stages as part of the usual international trade\nmechanisms.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-prepares-response-to-us-trade-and-investment-investigation-denies-excess-capacity-allegations-1776095494", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }