Indonesia has asked to re-write a new regional trade pact with China, citing fears of job losses due to a flood of cheap Chinese imports across various sectors, officials said yesterday.
The government has sought to maintain 228 tariff lines for another two years rather than cut them as required under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA), which Jakarta first signed in 2002 and took full effect on Jan. 1.
“The letter of notification on negotiations to discuss modifications to the 228 tariff items was submitted on December 31,” Trade Ministry official Gusmardi Bustami said.
Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu has refused to comment on the pact and would not say if a formal request for further protection had been sent to ASEAN.
Industry ministry spokesman Muhdori said a two-year reprieve from zero tariffs was required in sectors including electronics, machinery, furniture, steel, textiles and chemicals.
The ACFTA comprises a market of 1.9 billion people, making it the largest trade pact in the world in terms of population. It has a combined GDP of some US$6 trillion and a total trade volume of US$4.3 trillion, ASEAN figures show.
Indonesian industry bodies have complained that the government has failed to prepare domestic producers to compete with Chinese goods, a failure acknowledged by the industry ministry spokesman.
“The reason for the delay is because we want local industries to be ready for competition with imported goods,” Muhdori said.
Indonesian Furniture Producers Association executive director Tanangga Karim welcomed the government’s request for a delay amid fears that hundreds of thousands of Indonesian workers could lose their jobs.
“A local computer desk made from particle wood sells for about 600,000 rupiah [US$65.4]. A Chinese computer desk made from similar materials can sell for about 400,000 here,” Karim said. “The free trade agreement between ASEAN and China will spell huge job losses at the big furniture makers here. Tens of thousands of employees could be laid off soon.”
Indonesian Employers Association chairman Sofyan Wanandi said that while some sectors would benefit from cheaper Chinese inputs and access to Chinese markets, on the whole the ACFTA was bad for Indonesia.
“Our products can’t compete with cheap Chinese products and as a result many factories will close down and there will be unemployment,” he said.
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck off the southern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines at 7:38am today, prompting the US Tsunami Warning System to issue an alert for neighboring countries, including Taiwan. The system issued a purple alert indicating a "tsunami threat." The potential threat zone includes Taiwan, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Yap and Palau. Philippine authorities were assessing the damage from the quake, with the office of civil defense seeking to verifying initial reports that 15 people had been killed and 129 injured in the region, mostly from falling debris. Arlene Hollero, disaster chief of Maasim town in the Philippines' Sarangani Province,
RESILIENCE: Taiwan plays a key role in semiconductors, energy, information infrastructure and advanced manufacturing, AIT Director Raymond Greene said Taiwan’s continued investment in deterrence and resilience remains vital, especially in uncrewed systems and other emerging technologies, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Raymond Greene said yesterday. Greene made the remarks at the annual National Strategic Summit on Supply Chain Resilience held by the Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET), a government-backed think tank. As Taiwan last year became the US’ fourth-largest trading partner and supply chain security is becoming more important, cooperation in emerging technologies continues to deepen between the two countries, he said. The US is committed to accelerating innovation, building key infrastructure, strengthening cooperation
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
RIGHT DIRECTION: Taiwan’s efforts to prevent forced labor include a proposal to ‘fully prohibit’ employers from withholding workers’ documents, an official said Taiwan is to establish a mechanism to restrict imports of goods linked to forced labor, the Executive Yuan said yesterday, after the US proposed imposing additional tariffs on Taiwanese goods over labor concerns. “The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Economic Affairs are to establish an interministerial review procedure,” Executive Yuan spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said at a news briefing in Taipei. “The government is to use the Foreign Trade Act [貿易法] as the legal basis to restrict imports of goods produced with forced labor” and bring its supply chain governance more in line with international standards on human rights, resilience
RSS