RI to raise textile and clothing issues at WTO

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia plans to raise textile and clothing issues at the upcoming ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) while rejecting any inclusion of contentious issues like human and labor rights.

Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo said yesterday that Indonesia had been disappointed by a virtual backslide by developed countries in implementing a multilateral agreement on textiles and clothing trade.

Tunky acknowledged that some textile importing countries -- mainly industrialized nations -- had cut their tariffs on textiles and textile products and removed other textile trade barriers.

"However, they only cut the tariffs on products which are rarely traded, so the measure does not benefit textile exporting countries like Indonesia," Tunky said after reporting to President Soeharto on preparations for next week's WTO ministerial meeting in Singapore.

Tunky said Indonesia would express its concerns over the slow integration of the multi-fiber arrangement, which governs international trade on textiles and garments, into the WTO.

"Indonesia, as a textile exporting country, wants a speedy integration of the arrangement into the WTO. We also want textile importing countries to abolish their quota systems," Tunky said.

Tunky, who will head the Indonesian delegation at the WTO, said Indonesia would reject any declaration by the WTO that includes contentious issues such as human rights and labor standards.

Indonesia would also oppose the inclusion of issues such as competition, investment and government procurement policies, he added.

"Decision making in the WTO is by consensus and we will oppose the wishes (of some countries) to enforce their will," Tunky said.

He conceded it would be hard to conclude agreements on some issues raised in the WTO draft declaration.

Several developed countries have been pushing for the inclusion of non-trade issues, including human and labor rights, into the WTO declaration to be issued at the end of the Singapore meeting.

The bid to include these issues has been staunchly opposed by many developing countries, including Indonesia.

"Indonesia will reject the inclusion of social issues, such as human rights and labor standards because the discussion of such issues is not the responsibility of the WTO but of the ILO (the International Labor Organization)," the minister said

Tunky said Indonesia would also reject a proposed multilateral investment policy because the proposal by some developed countries concerned matters which violated states' sovereignty.

"We do need foreign investment. However, we should have the right to regulate it," the minister said.

Some developed countries, notably the United States, Japan and those in the European Union, want the meeting to agree on a multilateral investment treaty to make member countries treat foreign and domestic investors equally.

Tunky said Indonesia would reject the inclusion of competition policies if they covered competition within Indonesia. "We should manage our own domestic competition policy, and I think we have done it correctly."

He added that Indonesia wanted the WTO to study anti- competitive moves such as complaints by several countries against dumping, arguing that some antidumping measures had been used as a form of protectionism by developed countries.

Indonesia would reject any inclusion regarding government procurement policies because state purchases were the prerogative of any sovereign state, Tunky said.

"In the case of government procurements, it is the government which has the money. So, the government should have the right to decide on which products it wants to purchase; the sellers cannot not rule the buyer.

"Besides, I guarantee that our international tenders for government procurements will continue to be conducted transparently because our rulings say so and we will continue to do it fairly," Tunky said.

But Tunky said Indonesia would agree in principle to a U.S. proposal to liberalize trade in computers and related information-technology products by 2000.

But Indonesia would require that special treatment be given to developing countries to eliminate tariffs on some related products, he added. (rid)