RI, Japan focus on cooperation
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Japan and Indonesia are focusing their series of negotiations on setting up an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to strengthen cooperation in trade, investment and intellectual property rights, the Minister of Trade says.
Mari E. Pangestu said on Monday the two countries had agreed in their first talks ending on Friday to form an EPA with five "expert groups", which would negotiate sector agreements.
"Friday's talk marks the kick-off of the EPA negotiation," Mari said.
The Expert Group on Trade in Goods will negotiate issues of market access, customs, rules of origin, competition and standard and conformance.
The Expert Group on Trade in Services, Investment and Government Procurement will explore mostly in areas of regulations needed to enhance investment, while the Expert Group on the Movement of Citizens will cover workers moving between the two countries.
The group on intellectual property rights, meanwhile, is to focus on information exchange and cooperation, while the Expert Group on Cooperation, will explore efforts in areas of capacity building for the Indonesian private sector in penetrating Japanese and international markets through the improvement of quality, standards and technical requirements.
Chief negotiator and U.S. Ambassador Soemadi DM Brotodiningrat said Indonesia had proposed forming a sixth group focusing solely on investment.
"But Japan has yet to show us its position (on forming a new group)," Soemadi, a former ambassador to Japan, said.
Earlier, the ministry said that Indonesia needed to focus more on capacity-building cooperation because lifting the tariff barriers would not automatically lead to a wider market access for local products, which would still face non-tariff barriers.
Indonesian goods might not be able to meet Japanese quality standards and technical requirements or be unsuited to Japanese tastes, the ministry warned.
The first round of talks came after President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi signed an agreement to launch EPA negotiations during Susilo's visit to Tokyo on June 2.
In the meeting, Koizumi and Susilo agreed the two countries would conclude the EPA talks "within a reasonable period of time".
According to Soemadi, the two countries were yet settle on a time frame for how long the negotiations would take place.
However, he said that Japan needed at least two years to conclude FTA talks with Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.
Because Japan was experienced in FTA talks, Soemadi hoped that EPA negotiations could be finished in less than two years.
The two delegations have agreed to hold negotiations at least every two months after their October meeting in Tokyo.