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Officials to form new import task force separate from Trade Ministry
“This [move] highlights that there is no coordination between [ministries]," said Andry Satrio Nugroho of the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef).
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Delivered: Goods are unloaded from a foreign cargo vessel at the Jakarta International Container Terminal at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on March 24, 2024. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
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group of senior administration officials are seeking to establish a new task force on imported goods, separate from the one that exists under the Trade Ministry, despite concerns that the two groups would have overlapping responsibilities.
The idea was raised at a ministerial-level meeting led by Coordinating Social Empowerment Minister Muhaimin Iskandar on Dec. 3 and attended by representatives of the Cooperatives Ministry; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Ministry; and the Migrant Workers Protection Ministry, among others.
Deputy Cooperatives Minister Ferry Juliantono claimed the new task force would be distinct from the existing one in that it would target both legal and illegal imports.
The Trade Ministry’s task force focuses principally on illegal imports. It was established in July under former minister Zulkifli Hasan.
Ferry added that Muhaimin would lead the task force and that it would focus on evaluating the impact of imports on the community, particularly MSMEs.
“It’s a form of social and economic protection from the ministries under the Office of the Coordinating Social Empowerment Minister,” Ferry said on Thursday, as quoted by Tempo.
“There are many imports that are affecting domestic goods, such as milk and other food products,” he said.
