Textile quota ruling revised

Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Minister of Industry and Trade Rini M.S. Soewandi said on Thursday that her office had issued a new decree on the export quota for textiles, which would allow the country's textile manufacturers to maintain the same permanent quota in the following year provided they were able to reach the quota given in the current year.

The new ministerial decree No. 311/2001 on quotas for textiles and textile products replaces decree No. 2/2001, which was issued on Jan. 4.

Speaking in a press conference, Rini said that the new ruling should be an incentive for exporters to boost their textile exports.

She said that the new decree was effective on Oct. 30.

Under the previous ruling, textile companies were guaranteed a permanent quota in the following year, but the quantity was not specified.

"This will create more certainty for the (textile) exporters in dealing with foreign buyers," Rini said.

The new decree also stipulates that the permanent textile quota for small and medium-sized companies will increase by 6 percent from the existing 3 percent.

"This represents our commitment to developing small and medium-sized enterprises," Rini added.

The country's textile exports last year reached US$8.2 billion and according to estimates it is set to drop by 30 percent this year due to a slowdown in the U.S. market.

Elsewhere, Rini said that her ministry had sent a letter to the office of U.S. trade representatives to resolve the current problems faced by local textile firms following the U.S. ban on local sweaters.

"We'll try to negotiate with the U.S. to drop the ban," she said.

Recently, Indonesian sweaters were banned by the U.S government from entering its market as the product had exceeded the given quota.