RI, China to discuss illegal shipping

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia will raise the issue of illegal transshipment during a bilateral meeting with the Chinese government in August.

Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said Friday that he had conveyed the government's concerns and industry's complaints on the alleged increase in the illegal transshipment of Chinese goods through Indonesia to Chinese trade ministry officials during his recent visit to China.

""They've supported our efforts to deal with illegal transshipment and we will discuss that in our bilateral meeting in Bali in August,"" he said.

A growing number of Chinese textile companies have reportedly resorted to shipping goods illegally through other countries to get them to the United States and Europe following the reintroduction of export quotas on the country's textile industry in early 2004.

Southeast Asian countries, particularly Indonesia, are among the most popular routes for illegal Chinese textile exports on their way to Europe and the United States.

Fahmi said that the growing illegal transshipment from China had contributed to the sharp increase in illegal imports to Indonesia.

He said the value of the smuggled goods reached $5.9 billion in 2005, 79 percent higher than the previous year's $3.3 billion, partly due to the increase in transshipment.

Fahmi said the government's losses in tax and duties due to illegal imports rose about 95 percent to US$970.9 million in 2005, from $498 million in the previous year. (07)