Indonesia seeks larger quota for textile exports to the U.S.
Indonesia seeks larger quota for textile exports to the U.S.
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will ask for a larger textile export
quota from the United States to enable the country's textile
industry to absorb jobless workers during the economic crisis,
Minister of Industry and Trade Luhut B. Pandjaitan said on
Wednesday.
Luhut said he would lobby the U.S. trade representative Robert
Zoellick over the larger textile quota during the Asia Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting in Shanghai,
China.
APEC's trade ministers will meet in Shanghai for two days
starting on Wednesday.
"It's a normal request that could be made by other textile
exporter countries," Luhut told reporters after the opening of
the Interior and Craft 2001 exhibition by Vice President Megawati
Soekarnoputri.
"We will ask for a larger textile quota as it will generate
more income for the country and enable us to absorb a larger
number of the unemployed," Luhut was quoted by Antara as saying.
The Association of Indonesian Textile Exporters (API) welcomed
the government's initiative, but it warned that such a move
should be carried out seriously and continuously.
The association's executive director Irwandy Muslim Amin told
The Jakarta Post that without strong and persistent efforts,
supported by complete and accurate data, the lobbying could be
useless.
"Thus far, the American government has paid little attention
at any pleas from the Indonesian negotiating teams as they (the
teams) did not make an all-out effort and 'simply asked' without
knowing what they were really asking," Irwandy said.
According to him, there were two key reasons that Indonesia
could present for an increase in the export quota.
First, Indonesia should point out that the country is among
the largest importers of American cotton, he said.
"If Indonesia is the largest importer of U.S. cotton, why does
the U.S. not give greater privileges to Indonesia?" he said.
According to him, Indonesia imports 30 percent of its total
500,000 ton cotton imports, worth US$1 billion, from the U.S.
each year. Australia accounts for 40 percent of the imports.
Second, Irwandy said, the Indonesian team should convince the
U.S. that the latter, as a wealthy country, should provide
greater help for Indonesia to recover from the protracted
economic crisis.
"The Indonesian team must play these two cards carefully. I'm
sure that their efforts will be fruitful," he added.
Irwandy explained that the U.S. was a very exclusive textile
market compared with other markets.
"Only high-quality textiles with high prices are offered in
the U.S. That's why decreasing orders from the U.S. have dealt a
major blow to Indonesia's textile exports,"
Irwandy earlier said orders from the U.S. had significantly
dropped in the first quarter of this year.
"The decrease in demands from the U.S., Europe and Japan
resulted in a 10 percent drop in Indonesian textile exports
during the period," Irwandy said last week.
Irwandy said that many textile companies had reduced their
production to only 60 percent of capacity, compared with 90
percent last year, due to sluggish export markets.
The U.S., Europe and Japan account for about 45 percent of
Indonesia's textile exports, while the so-called "non-quota
countries" such as the Middle East, Latin American and African
countries take the remaining 55 percent. (03)