RI eyes gains in U.S.-S'pore free trade

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Bintan

Indonesian manufacturers can expect to benefit from a planned free trade pact between the U.S. and Singapore, using the city- state as a jumping-off point for cheaper access to the U.S. market.

Visiting U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellik said that the Bintan industrial zone near Singapore may be the first to benefit from a free trade pact between the U.S. and the city state.

More than 100 items of information technology products from Bintan may enter the U.S. market duty free if the deal comes through, he said.

"For people in Indonesia, the benefit of a U.S. and Singapore free trade agreement should be greater investment, more jobs and higher experts," Zoellik told reporters on Friday.

Zoellik was on a two-day visit on the Bintan island to meet Minister of Industry and Trade Rini Soewandi, and Singapore Trade Minister George Yeo.

Many Singaporean companies owned plants in Bintan or Batam to capitalize on cheaper land and labor. Designated for export markets, products from the two islands often find their way into the U.S. market.

Singapore, depending on international trade to offset its minimum natural resources, is trying to coax the U.S., which is ASEAN's largest export market, into forming a free trade pact.

According to Zoellik, Bintan's integration into the free trade pact may be followed by other industrial zones such as Batam - also a base for Singapore manufacturers.

"This integrated sourcing initiative will make it possible for over 100 IT (information technology) products to be shipped from Singapore to the U.S. duty free without any extra paperwork, without any extra fees, and without any extra red tape," he said.

Singapore's trade minister Yeo said that the negotiation for a free trade agreement with the U.S. was in its final stage.

"This is a win-win arrangement that will benefit all parties and improve ASEAN's competitiveness as an investment destination for U.S. companies vis-a-vis China," Yeo said.

China is seen as a growing threat to economies in Southeast Asian, attracting around US$45 billion in foreign direct investment last year alone.

Trade minister Rini said that the government saw "great potential" to further improve Bintan and Batam's international competitiveness.

Zoellik meets President Megawati Soekarnoputri on Sunday.