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strong>July 24, p1

Business groups have cheered import duty rises on a wide range of manufactured goods that became effective on Thursday, expressing hope of a boost to domestic industry amid the current economic slowdown.

Indonesian Textile Association (API) chairman Ade Sudrajat said that the tariff increases would be beneficial to the domestic manufacturing industry, allowing fairer competition between locally made and foreign goods.

'€œThis may help push up sales of local products amid the ongoing economic downturn,'€ Ade told The Jakarta Post.

Your comments:

So, our tax is used to pay a minister'€™s salary so he can make decisions that will make us pay even more for lower quality goods.

Rabianto

President Joko '€œJokowi'€ Widodo and his administration continue to prove that they are the worst leaders this country has seen in the last 50 years.

Mango Nusa

To compete, Indonesian firms need to just stop making poor quality goods and raise their standards by increasing salaries to boost productivity and quality instead of just sucking up profits. You can'€™t continue to feed children if they never want to grow up.

Happening

Unfortunately, it seems we have to live with this government for quite a while. On the one hand, this government increases the alcohol tax by 150 percent to support local production, while at the same time discusses the total ban of production, distribution and consumption of alcohol at the House of Representatives.

Obviously, there is no middle- or long-term plan for our future whatsoever. I have given up all hope for these politicians and government employees.

Devineasia

Protectionism is a very short-term solution. While it is implemented, ordinary people use their limited funds to pay for goods over the market price. We need to address the root causes of why Indonesian industry pays such high energy costs and pays for expensive and inefficient infrastructure. That'€™s what is making domestic goods uncompetitive. Please don'€™t blame the minimum salary.

Deedee S.

Do Indonesians really believe that the path to riches and glory is to cut themselves off from the world and achieve self-sufficiency?

It seems as if having to comply with international rules is something Western countries have to do but countries such as Indonesia can just ignore with no consequences. Still, this will be a self-defeating policy. Cutting off imports will cause inflation at a time of slowing growth, which will be a double whammy for the country. Jokowi is slowly squeezing the life out of the Indonesian economy.

Lasem Benny

The fact is that the Indonesian manufacturing sector can'€™t compete in the globe market. Clearly the government doesn'€™t understand the actions needed to address this.

Rather clinically, those that control Indonesia want to keep it that why and in the absence of social, economic and political reform, the worlds'€™ leading nations have benefited from Indonesian suffering. The mix of religion with politics is also a negative for Indonesia'€™s future.

Farmer

It'€™s certainly the North Korean dream, and every North Korean knows that North Korea is the Best Korea, the pinnacle of human achievement.

Dani

What I am having a hard time wrapping my pea brain around is how a '€œdemocratic'€ nation can have positions within government that can just suddenly up and proclaim a new degree without any checks or balances. It seems to me like the ministers here are basically a group of dictators doing as they please without any other government approval. That is just wrong and a big black mark on how a country needs to govern to be successful. This needs to change.

In countries that are democratic, there is in place a system of checks and balances as well as approvals.

Be it a legislature or parliament, there is someone to decide if these suggestions are good or bad for a country. It almost seems that the ministers have more power than the President himself. Has anyone from the media sought out the President'€™s thoughts on this sudden and dictatorial move by one of his ministers?

X. Simaging

I wonder how Indonesia would react if exporting countries counter this move with increased import tariffs on Indonesian goods?

Personally, there will quite a few products that I will just not be buying here any further and I'€™m also very much afraid that, in a very large number of cases, I will not be tempted into buying locally manufactured alternatives instead. Sadly, once bitten is twice shy.

May Ling Pfe