U.S. grants Indonesia import duty cuts

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The United States has agreed to add eight categories of products to its scheme for reduced import duties on Indonesian goods entering the U.S. market as part of its overall efforts to help tsunami-affected countries, the Ministry of Trade has said.

"The value of exports to the U.S. covered by the eight categories last year stood at US$301.67 million," ministry spokesman Iman Pambagyo told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

The eight groups of products fall within four broader groups, namely, edible products of animal origin (HS 0410.00.00), ether- alcohol of odoriferous or flavoring compounds (HS 2909.50.40), plywood with outer ply of less than 6 millimeters in thickness (HS 4412.13.40) and contact lenses (HS 9001.30.00).

The eight groups of goods have been eligible to benefit from the scheme since July 1, along with the hundreds of other categories of goods that have been on the list for years.

Iman said that Indonesia had benefited most from the U.S.'s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) scheme this year, which is worth $500 million for all the tsunami-affected countries.

The GSP scheme is a program under which developed countries are granted preferential duty cuts for selected products.

Following the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster that claimed up to 230,000 lives along Asian coasts, the world poured aid into the devastated countries. The more developed countries have also offered various trade relief measures.