'U.S. Bioterrorism Act to hurt local SMEs'

Adianto P. Simamora, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The implementation of the U.S. Bioterrorism Act will particularly hurt Indonesia's small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that export food and agricultural products to the U.S. because of their inability to meet IT requirements, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) said.

Kadin official Noes Soediono said on Wednesday that SMEs would also have difficulty seeking trade agents in the U.S. as required by the act.

"We (Kadin) have received many complaints about the U.S. act from exporters," Noes said.

One of the most difficult requirements for SMEs is the mandatory use of the Internet for export registration.

"We have asked the U.S. government to help local small and medium exporters in establishing their our websites," she said.

The Bioterrorism Act was initiated in 2002, following the Sept.11 terrorist attacks in the U.S. The act will be fully implemented on Dec. 12 this year, with registration of exporters starting on Oct.12.

The act permits the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 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 with the FDA.

After registering, exporters are also obliged to give prior notice to the FDA concerning 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 reexport.

Elsewhere, Noes said the inspection fee for agriculture exports would also increase significantly as the products must be inspected in a Singaporean seaport before entering the U.S.

She predicted that the country's agriculture exports were expected to decline in 2004 with the implementation of the act. She did not provide figures.

The U.S. is one of Indonesia's largest export markets. In 2002, the exportation of agricultural products reached US$ 1.7 million.

Earlier, the government, Kadin and the Indonesian Food and Beverages Association (GAPMI) sent a letter to the U.S. to protest the act.

Meanwhile, Anita Katial-Zemany, agriculture attache at the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, said that the act was not a trade barrier to Indonesian export products.

"This is not a trade barrier because this act is applied to all countries in the world. Indonesia is one of the most important suppliers of agricultural products to the U.S.," she said.

"There is no reason for the U.S to stop that. We need Indonesian products as there are so many products here that the U.S. does not produce. We don't want to ban them," she said.