U.S. offers import duty cuts for Aceh goods

In a gesture to help Aceh tsunami victims, the United States has offered a scheme to cut import duties on Acehnese products entering U.S. market, a senior official at the Ministry of Trade said.

"We had informal talks with the U.S. and they are willing to extend preferential cuts in duty, but only for Acehnese commodities and goods," the ministry's director general for international cooperation Pos M. Hutabarat said over the weekend.

However, Aceh had limited manufacturing industry, and exported its products and natural commodities through the neighboring province of North Sumatra, he said.

"We will formally propose that the scheme cover all goods using materials from Aceh. We will have to identify which goods are eligible to enjoy the benefits of the scheme."

The scheme is formally known as the Generalized System of Preference (GSP) program, under which developed countries grant preferential duty cuts for selected products from developing countries.

Aside from the U.S., the European Union also offers a similar scheme. At the moment, Minister of Trade Mari E. Pangestu is on a trip to Europe to, among other things, ask for GSP treatment for Indonesian tuna, shrimp, textiles and clothing.

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