Cap Orang Tua, Qeju and rendang cincang?

Foreign governments and businesspeople have been complaining about what they consider restrictive import barriers the Indonesian government has slapped on certain goods. However, further analyses would show that what the Trade Ministry has been doing so far is mostly protecting the domestic market from dumped or smuggled goods as there is now a huge excess of manufacturing capacity in most countries due to the global economic downturn.

The House of Representatives, or DPR, settled some controversial issues regarding the country’s proposed mining law late on Thursday, including the use of mining permits instead of contracts, which should clear the way for the bill to become law as early as Tuesday, House members said. Foreign and local mining companies have long been anticipating the mining law, which has been deliberated since 2005.