Indonesia against exempting sectors in APEC

Indonesia against exempting sectors in APEC

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia is in favor of the liberation of trade
and investment in all sectors under the Asia Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) forum's Bogor Declaration and is against the
exemption of certain sectors from the agenda, an official said
yesterday.

"If several countries want to exempt certain sectors from the
agenda, others will want to do the same... In the end, all we
will have is an empty basket," said Bintoro Tjokroamidjojo,
President Soeharto's special assistant for APEC.

Bintoro made his comments during a panel discussion titled
"APEC: From Bogor to Osaka", which was held yesterday by the
Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

Other panelists at the meeting were Suhadi Mangkusuwondo, a
member of the APEC's Eminent Persons Group and Abdul Rachman
Ramly, a member of the APEC's Pacific Business Forum.

Bintoro said Indonesia's stance in supporting free trade in
all sectors matched the "comprehensiveness principle" stipulated
in APEC's blueprint -- called an "Action Agenda" -- for
implementing the Bogor commitments.

He acknowledged that the principle was likely to be among the
hurdles faced by APEC leaders in the upcoming APEC meeting in
Osaka, Japan, later this month.

APEC's 18 leaders agreed at the 1994 summit in Bogor to aim
for overall free trade and investment by 2010 for the forum's
developed member countries and by 2020 for its developing
members.

Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan, however, have recently
begun seeking special treatment for sensitive sectors, such as
agriculture, in the 25-year blueprint. This has raised objections
from farm exporters such as Australia, the United States,
Thailand and New Zealand.

But most of the 18 members say that different treatment for
sensitive sectors would undermine last year's agreement.

APEC groups Brunei, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan,
Thailand and the United States.

Problems

Suhadi said that apart from the comprehensive framework, other
problems the APEC leaders might face at the Osaka summit was the
reluctance of industrialized countries to abide by a "concerted
unilateral liberalization" scheme.

The scheme, which was proposed by developing economies, allows
APEC members to proceed with the Bogor commitments at their own
pace, using their individual agendas.

Suhadi said developed countries were uncomfortable with this
and preferred to use trade negotiations and legally-binding
mechanisms to settle trade timetables.

Another problem which may arise, he said, was the
comparability principle, underlined by developed members, to
prevent "free riders".

"Developed countries want to make sure the trade and
investment guidelines made by developing countries match -- and
are comparable with -- theirs," he said.

Commenting on preparations for the Osaka meeting, Bintoro said
leaders of APEC member countries would present the initial steps,
or "down payments", that they have made since the Bogor summit
last November.

Indonesia's down payment, he said, includes the deregulation
package issued by the government on May 23.

The package gradually cuts back tariffs on certain commodities
up to the maximum level allowed by the World Trade Organization.

"After the Osaka meeting, each country is expected to make
their own action plans for trade liberalization," he said.

Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Aburizal Bakrie, who attended yesterday's discussion, said that
the business sector was ready to face the upcoming free trade
era.

But he questioned the readiness of Indonesia's policy makers
and government officials, who he said should be staunch
supporters of trade liberalization.

"The problem is how we stop the distortions that happen in
the business world which are often backed by people in the
government and policy makers" he said. (pwn)