Mari to review trade rulings

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