Indonesia sticks to free trade exemptions

Indonesia sticks to free trade exemptions

HAMBURG (Reuter): Indonesia needed to exclude 26 agricultural
products from tariff reductions as part of the implementation of
the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Minister of Agriculture
Sjarifudin Baharsjah said.

Speaking to Reuters during a visit here, he said the products
including rice, sugar, milk and fruit, were grown mainly by
smallholders which needed special protection.

"We have to bear the smallholders in mind, these are sensitive
products," he said.

"But we'll look at it in a comprehensive way to meet
international free trade rules," he said.

The products would be excluded from the Common Effective
Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme where other ASEAN countries
also have listed sensitive products.

Under the CEPT scheme, ASEAN members must reduce tariffs to a
maximum of five percent the year 2003.

The minister said Indonesia might not meet this deadline in
the sensitive products but it might do so under another deadline
for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum by 2020.

"We're taking great steps to adjust our agricultural sector
accordingly," he said.