Textile quota ruling revised

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.