RI hopes FTA will boost export to China
RI hopes FTA will boost export to China
Zakki P. Hakim, Jakarta
The government said on Thursday that Indonesian exports to China
could double in three years following the gradual implementation
of a free trade agreement (FTA).
Director general of international cooperation at the Ministry
of Industry and Trade Pos M. Hutabarat said Presidential Decree
No. 48/2004 was issued on Tuesday, ratifying the FTA between the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China.
"After the ratification, we target to double our export value
to China from US$2.9 billion last year to $5.8 billion in 2007,"
he said.
China, with its fast growing economy and huge population, is
increasingly becoming an important market for Indonesian exports.
ASEAN agreed to set up an FTA with China in 2002, and during
the 2003 ASEAN Summit on Bali, the grouping further agreed to
accelerate the realization of the FTA through an early harvest
program. In addition, the six founding members of ASEAN agreed to
set up an FTA with Japan by 2010 and with India by 2011.
Pos said that since Jan. 1, Indonesia had reduced import
tariffs on some 600 of 11,000 products listed in the ASEAN-China
FTA as part of the early harvest program.
He said by 2010, when the FTA with China is fully established,
ASEAN expected to have cut down or removed import tariffs on up
to 95 percent of listed products.
The remaining 5 percent are classified as sensitive products,
including electronics and automobiles.
Pos also said ASEAN planned to accelerate the implementation
of the FTA with India, hoping to implement the plan gradually
starting next month.
"But the number of products to be included (in the early
harvest) are still being discussed by trade officials," he said.
Meanwhile, the FTA with Japan, which is set to be initiated in
January 2005, might be delayed, as ASEAN and Japan were still
negotiating on product selection, he said.
"Negotiation has been difficult, since apparently Japan is
trying to protect its agricultural products," he said.
ASEAN groups together Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and
Vietnam; China, India and Japan are ASEAN dialog partners.
Meanwhile, Pos played down fears over the possible impact of
an economic slowdown in China on bilateral trade. He stressed
that none of Indonesia's export products would be affected by
China's tightening measures, which include investment bans on
certain sectors, and added that China was likely to enjoy a soft
landing.