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EU trade agreements with Ukraine, Georgia set to benefit Indonesia
The Ukrainian and Georgian ambassadors to Jakarta say that their countriesâ free trade agreement with the European Union (EU) will eventually benefit Indonesia by providing more market access to the trading bloc of some 500 million people
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he Ukrainian and Georgian ambassadors to Jakarta say that their countries' free trade agreement with the European Union (EU) will eventually benefit Indonesia by providing more market access to the trading bloc of some 500 million people.
Both countries, along with Moldova, which does not have a diplomatic mission in Jakarta, individually signed on June 27 a bilateral economic component of the EU association agreement which will form a tree trade area (FTA) between the EU and the three countries.
'The function of the FTA is to get rid of tariff barriers for 97 percent of goods, to lift non-tariff technical barriers [like import quotas] and free up the service market,' the Ukrainian embassy in Jakarta said in a press release.
'The FTA will basically lift restrictions on all products coming from Ukraine into the European market, which has 500 million consumers.'
Ukrainian ambassador to Jakarta Volodymyr Pakhil told The Jakarta Post that his country's association with the EU would in the end benefit Indonesia.
'Ukraine will adopt European standards of quality control [...] Indonesian importers will be dealing with higher-quality products,' he said at the Georgian Embassy in South Jakarta on Wednesday
'Indonesian imports that are processed in Ukraine will have easier access to EU markets,' he added.
Currently, Pakhil said that Ukrainian bilateral trade with Indonesia stood at about US$1 billion.
Similar views were expressed by the Georgian ambassador to Jakarta, Zurab Aleksidze, who said that his country could become an entry point for Indonesian goods to enter the EU market.
'As the EU has so many regulations and standards regarding safety and quality, Indonesian producers would also be required to increase the quality of goods to enter the EU market,' he told the Post.
Aleksidze said that bilateral trade between Georgia and Indonesia stood at roughly $40 million.
Indonesia has yet to finalize its comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with the EU despite the launching of formal talks in December of 2012.
The EU deputy delegation head to Indonesia, Colin Crooks, said that Indonesia should be confident enough to continue trade talks considering that it had a larger population and better potentials than the three other countries.
