Will AFTA bring us nothing but good?<\/p>\n
Tantri Yuliandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
With none of the splashy fanfare that marked the debut of the
\neuro, the ASEAN Free Trade Area scheme (AFTA) commenced on the
\nfirst day of this year.<\/p>\n
Many of us, like Mirah Maharani, a trainer at Pelopor
\nAdventure Camp, an outdoor human resource training operator, did
\nnot even know about it.<\/p>\n
\"I always thought it was to be in 2003 -- wasn't all the hype
\nfor 2003?\" she said.<\/p>\n
Under the first terms to take effect, imported products from
\nother member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian
\nNations are set to become easily available in Indonesia (the
\nscheme will have a staggered implementation in several other
\nnations). Other AFTA stipulations, including those governing
\nservices and employment, will come later, pending changes in
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
Its first impact will be felt in the marketplace.<\/p>\n
Because the AFTA scheme requires member countries to lower all
\nbut a few of their import tariffs from zero percent to 5 percent
\nby the end of the year, imported goods will no longer carry the
\nhigh price tags they had in the past.<\/p>\n
Lower prices and a wider range of product choice should
\nbenefit the public in the long run, at least in theory.<\/p>\n
However, chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumer Foundation
\n(YLKI) Indah Suksmaningsih saw things differently.<\/p>\n
\"It (AFTA) will be beneficial to the public only if the
\nfreedom of trade is balanced by a fair disputes settlement system
\nfor consumers,\" she told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Indah pointed out that while the AFTA scheme outlined in
\ndetail the benefit of free trade for corporations across the
\nregion, it failed to address the importance of consumer
\nprotection.<\/p>\n
\"Where do consumers go to complain about defective goods from
\nMalaysia, for example?\" she queried, adding that a consumer
\nfoundation at the international level was needed to mediate
\ndisputes between producers and their international consumers.<\/p>\n
Indah also criticized the government's inclination to put the
\ninterests of producers above those of consumers, citing slowness
\nin establishing an official consumer disputes settlement body,
\nwhich had been promised in the 1999 consumer protection law.<\/p>\n
\"It's always the one with the money who wins, and consumers
\nare positioned at the weaker end,\" she said, reasoning that a
\ngovernment body's main job was to fight for the rights of the
\npeople.<\/p>\n
A reliable source of information on new products was also
\nanother reason for the establishment of an official consumer
\ndisputes settlement body, Indah said, explaining that without
\nproper information consumers could be cheated into buying low-
\nquality goods.<\/p>\n
\"Without being patronizing, the body could, for example,
\ncompare the different brands of detergent, their pluses and
\nminuses, so that consumers could make up their own minds which
\nwas the better product for them,\" she said.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, public ignorance of AFTA continues to
\npredominate. Many did not realize that the implementation of the
\nfree trade area had been brought forward to this year, instead of
\n2003 initially, and many others only found out recently through
\nthe media.<\/p>\n
As for the likelihood of a wider variety of goods, possibly at
\ncheaper prices, Mirah said she would be happy with the choice.
\nHowever, she acknowledged the danger to local businesses.<\/p>\n
\"We (Indonesians) view foreign products as better than our
\nown,\" Mirah said, underlining the danger to the prosperity of
\nlocal factories and their workers.<\/p>\n
Indeed, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
\n(Kadin) recently disclosed that about 27 percent of local
\nproducts were not ready for free competition.<\/p>\n
The Association of Indonesian Textile Producers (API) even
\npredicted that, with the current global economic downturn, more
\nthan 100,000 jobs could be shed within the year.<\/p>\n
\"If the corporations say they aren't ready, then the workers
\nare in trouble,\" Dita Indah Sari of the Indonesian National Front
\nfor Labor Struggle (FNBI) said, adding that already some 8,500
\nworkers had lost their jobs within the last two months to three
\nmonths in Tangerang and Bandung, West Java.<\/p>\n
\"And that's before the AFTA scheme was fully operational,\" she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Dita said that Indonesia's preparations for free trade had
\nbeen at a high cost to its people, including the gradual
\nelimination of various subsidies such as for fuel and
\nelectricity.<\/p>\n
\"The reason why the government wants to do away with subsidies
\nis because other countries won't accept competition from cheaper
\nsubsidized products,\" she said.<\/p>\n
\"Obviously, it (the government) is more concerned about the
\ncountry's global position than the welfare of its people\".<\/p>",
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