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Going heavy on metals: Jokowi vows to keep minerals at home
Jokowi said that if Indonesia lost the EU case at the World Trade Organization, the government would keep appealing even if it took the next five to 10 years.
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President Joko “Jokowi“ Widodo talks to The Jakarta Post's journalists during an interview at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, on Nov. 2. (JP/Abdur Rahim)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said that the government would continue to fight in international forums to keep nickel and other mineral resources at home, saying that it must go “a little bit crazy” to protect the country’s interests.
Jokowi said that it was critical to building a “big ecosystem” of nickel downstreaming instead of only exporting raw materials, as the country holds the largest nickel reserve in the world.
“I’d rather have a brawl [with other countries]. Go ahead and sue [Indonesia] in the WTO [World Trade Organization]. Even if we lose, that’s all right. But we will finally have the [downstream] industry developed,” he told The Jakarta Post in an exclusive interview on Nov. 2.
Data from the United States Geological Survey show that Indonesia and Australia hold the largest nickel reserves in the world with 21 million tonnes each, followed by Brazil and Russia with 16 million and 7.5 million tonnes, respectively.
The European Union filed a complaint against Indonesia in 2019 over restrictions imposed by the latter on the export of raw materials like nickel, which is required for stainless steel production. Brussels argued that Indonesia had violated the commitment of WTO members to give as wide access as possible to international trade including raw nickel, as stipulated in Article XI:1 of the 1994 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Read also: The worst-case scenario of RI-EU dispute on nickel ore export ban
Jokowi said that if Indonesia lost, he would appeal the case even if it took the next five to 10 years. “It wouldn’t be so bad. Our electric vehicle and battery industries will be ready by then.”
