'Washington likely to extend GSP facility for RI'<\/p>\n
BALIKPAPAN, East Kalimantan (JP): After a four-day tour of
\nvarious parts of Indonesia including East Timor, a senior U.S.
\ncongressman expressed optimism that the United States would
\nextend its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facility for
\nIndonesia.<\/p>\n
\"I believe there is more than a possibility of Indonesia being
\nextended the GSP... and there is better than a 50 percent chance
\nthat it will be renewed,\" said Bill Archer, chairman of the U.S.
\nWays and Means Committee, which is responsible for all trade and
\ntax policies.<\/p>\n
Archer is currently in the country with congressman E. Clay
\nShaw, who is the chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on
\nHuman Resources, congresswoman Nancy Johnson, the chairwoman of
\nthe sub-committee on Oversight, and Kenneth Kies, the chief of
\nstaff of the Joint Committee on Taxation.<\/p>\n
\"I wish I could say it was a 100 percent chance, but we have
\nto debate it and get the majority of the votes,\" Archer told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
The Ministry of Trade announced last month that the U.S.
\nCongress had failed to reach a decision on whether or not the
\nUnited States should extend the GSP trade facility, which expired
\non July 31.<\/p>\n
Thus, it was stipulated that all goods entering the United
\nStates or taken out of U.S. warehouses after Aug. 1 would not get
\nany import duty exemption generally offered under the GSP
\nfacility.<\/p>\n
The United States has lately been criticizing what it
\nconsiders Indonesia's unfavorable record on workers rights and
\nhuman rights.<\/p>\n
Washington threatened earlier this year to revoke Indonesia's
\ntrade privileges under the GSP unless Jakarta improved its labor
\nrecord.<\/p>\n
Decision<\/p>\n
Archer said yesterday that discussions on the GSP may take
\nplace around October and the U.S. Congress may reach a decision
\nbefore the end of this year.<\/p>\n
He pointed out, however, that extending the GSP would score as
\na revenue loss.<\/p>\n
\"Under our budget act, we can't do anything that will increase
\nour deficit, so we have to find other sources of revenues to
\noffset that,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"And whenever we have to find extra revenues (to cover those
\nlosses) from somewhere else, that becomes very unpopular,\" Archer
\nadded.<\/p>\n
He said that the Congress people's visit to Indonesia was
\nmeant to obtain first-hand information on situations in Indonesia
\nbecause he considered many things in the U.S. domestic media as
\n\"not always accurate\".<\/p>\n
The entourage yesterday made a one-day visit to the plywood
\nmill and planting grounds of PT International Timber Corp.
\nIndonesia (ITCI), which is jointly owned by the Army's Kartika
\nEka Paksi Foundation, timber tycoon Muhammad (Bob) Hasan, the
\nruling Golkar party, several foundations headed by President
\nSoeharto and the Bimantara Citra Group, which is chaired by one
\nof President Soeharto's sons.<\/p>\n
According to available data, ITCI currently controls
\nconcessions of more than 500,000 hectares in East Kalimantan. The
\ncompany has also won praise from various officials and ecological
\nexperts for its sound management.<\/p>\n
In June, the Ministry of Forestry transferred 290,000 hectares
\nof forestry concessions previously held by plywood maker PT Kayan
\nRiver Timber Production to ITCI.<\/p>\n
The group was led to ITCI's planting grounds by Bob Hasan, who
\nwas accompanied by the Ministry of Forestry's Director General
\nfor Forest Utilization Titus Sarijanto.<\/p>\n
Hasan yesterday explained to them the government's forest
\nsustainable management policy.<\/p>\n
The Congressmen, all of whom are from the Republican party,
\narrived in Indonesia on Wednesday and have so far visited East
\nTimor, Bali and Yogyakarta.<\/p>\n
The group, which is here at the invitation of the Minister of
\nDefense and Security, is scheduled to attend the Independence Day
\nceremony on Thursday and will return to the United States on
\nFriday. (pwn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/washington-likely-to-extend-gsp-facility-for-ri-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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