Ministry to work on trade facilitation, transparency

Ministry to work on trade facilitation, transparency

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

The Ministry of Trade is focusing on improving trade
facilitation, foreign trade policies and good governance as among
measures to boost the country's exports.

The ministry's Director General of Foreign Trade Diah Maulida
said on Friday that on top of the list was addressing high-cost
economy issues, particularly at seaports.

"Although ports are not mainly the responsibility of the trade
ministry, we will help facilitate measures to cut costs at
ports," she said at a media luncheon.

The Directorate General of Foreign Trade is responsible for
the country's exports, imports and trade facilitation.

Diah, who was installed last month, said that in implementing
good governance, and thus avoiding moral hazards, the ministry
would gradually move to paperless services.

"We will use online services that would reduce the number of
face-to-face encounters between businesspeople and officials,"
she said.

The ministry is currently testing an automation system of
certification of origin applications in Jakarta, the Cakung
bonded zone in East Jakarta and Batam and is collecting data on
applications in 13 other provinces.

The certificates state the percentage of local content within
a product. It is usually needed to comply with the rule of
origin, regulating that a product with a certain percentage of
local content may enjoy import duty cuts in certain destination
countries.

Diah said the ministry would be more transparent especially in
producing ministerial regulations concerning trade policies.

"We will invite and consult with all stakeholders first before
enacting any trade-related ministerial regulations," she said,
adding that for the moment the media would continue to be left
out of the process.

According to Diah, less than 6 percent of the 11,471 products
grouped in the Harmonized System have their imports regulated,
monitored or banned. Meanwhile, about 2 percent of products have
their exports regulated.

"Eventually, the list of regulated items will be reduced,
although of course some will remain on the list," she said.

Internationally, countries monitor and ban the trade of
several goods based on considerations of safety, security,
health, environment and moral hazards, she said.

However, Indonesia had two additional considerations:
protecting domestic industries and prioritizing the interests of
local farmers.