Mari to review trade rulings

The new government will review several trade regulations, including those that arrange the trade of sugar, textiles and clothing, and automotive parts, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Minister of Trade Mari Elka Pangestu said the ministry would review 22 trade regulations and trade arrangements.

"There are 22 trade regulations to be reviewed .... Among them are trade arrangements on sugar, textiles and clothing, and automotive parts," she said during a visit to Pasar Genteng market in Surabaya, East Java, as quoted by detik.com.

Former trade minister Rini MS Soewandi enacted a number of trade mechanisms in a bid to help protect local producers from an influx of cheaper imported commodities. But there has been criticism that the trade arrangements have failed to achieve their purpose due to smuggling and abuses by corrupt officials and businesspeople.

Rini's policy on the sugar trade, for instance, which limits the number of importers of the commodity in a bid to protect local sugarcane farmers, has been seen as ineffective due to smuggling and other abuses.

Mari, who was previously an economist with private think tank Centre for Strategic and International Studies, is among those who believe that erecting tariff walls is more effective than imposing trade mechanisms. -- JP