MUI Urges Government to Apply Equal Treatment Over US Products Entering Indonesia Without Halal Certification
Jakarta, VIVA – The Assessment Institute for Foods, Drugs and Cosmetics (LPPOM) of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has called on the Indonesian Government to apply equal treatment regarding halal certification.
“We urge the government to provide equal treatment and demonstrate its support for local producers,” said LPPOM MUI Chief Executive Muti Arintawati when contacted from Jakarta on Monday.
Muti’s statement was in response to the trade agreement between the Indonesian Government and the United States. The point of contention concerns halal certification requirements for US products entering Indonesia.
Muti explained that halal regulations under Government Regulation (PP) Number 42 of 2024 explicitly require cosmetics, medical devices, and related services (such as distribution services) to hold halal certificates, whilst non-halal products must display a non-halal label.
“However, the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that LPPOM received, in Article 2.9, indicates potential inconsistencies with the halal regulations that have been in force,” she said.
According to Muti, the MoU exempts cosmetics, medical devices and their distribution services from the mandatory halal certification requirement, and non-halal products would not be obliged to display non-halal labels on their packaging.
“These exemptions also appear in Article 2.22, such as those relating to non-animal food products being exempted from mandatory halal certification and the non-mandatory presence of halal supervisors in companies,” she said.
Muti assessed that this situation automatically creates an imbalance in competition, whereby local producers and foreign producers (other than those from the US) face obligations that US producers do not.
She noted that other countries could demand the same treatment, and there is even the potential for unequal treatment to be challenged at the WTO on grounds of discrimination.
“We urge the government to provide equal treatment and demonstrate its support for local producers, and not to submit to foreign pressure regarding halal matters,” she said.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya sought to clarify the issue suggesting that US products could enter Indonesia without halal certification. Teddy stated that such reports were untrue and misleading.
“That is not true,” he said.
He affirmed that all products that are required to hold halal certification must still bear an official halal label, whether issued by a halal body in the US or by the relevant authority in Indonesia.