RI protests U.S. Bio-Terrorism Act
RI protests U.S. Bio-Terrorism Act
A'an Suryana, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Indonesian government has sent a letter to the U.S.
government to protest against its controversial Bio-Terrorism
Act, a senior official said on Wednesday.
Director general for industry cooperation and international
trade at the ministry of industry and trade, Pos M. Hutabarat,
said the act was seen as a serious threat to the country's
exports.
The U.S. is one of Indonesia's largest export markets.
The Bio-Terrorism Act was initiated in 2002, following the
Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in the U.S.
The act permitted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to
respond quickly to any threat to the U.S. food supply.
Under the act, agriculture and food-related companies who want
to export their goods to the U.S. must register themselves with
the FDA. After registering, the exporters are also obliged to
give prior notice to the FDA over the arrival of their goods,
otherwise the products will not be allowed to enter the U.S.
market and the exporters will bear the cost of storage or re-
export.
Pos said that the Bio-Terrorism Act was not in violation of
the terms set under the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling,
but nevertheless Indonesia appealed to the U.S. to review the
policy, particularly as it would adversely affect developing
countries, whose economies rely on exports.
He said that one of the requirements that would become a new
burden for local exporters was the mandatory use of the Internet
for export registration.
He said that this would create extra cost for exporters, many
of whom were also not familiar with the Internet.
Pos said that many other countries had also lodged similar
complaints with the U.S. government.
The U.S. is expected to soon notify the WTO about the new
ruling, and within three months the international trade body
would decide whether the Bio-Terrorism Act complies with WTO
laws.
The U.S. government has targeted the act to become fully
effective in November of this year.