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SMEs' interests must be prioritized in Indonesia-EU CEPA: Kadin
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Upbeat -- Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) chairman Rosan P. Roeslani talks to journalists at the Trade Ministry's office on Aug. 24. (JP/Anton Hermansyah)
T
he Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has called on the government to prioritize the interests of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the ongoing Indonesia-EU talks on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Kadin chairman Rosan P.Roeslani said Indonesian businesspeople welcomed the country’s free-trade pact with the European bloc, highlighting the partnership’s potential to widen their export market to EU member countries with fewer trade barriers.
Hopefully the government will also stand up for SMEs in the negotiations, he said in Jakarta on Tuesday
Indonesia and EU began their initial meeting to discuss general issues on the free trade pact in Brussels, Belgium, last week, following the signing of the scoping paper between Indonesian and EU leaders on April 21.
Among issues discussed in the first negotiations include market access of trade in goods and services, customs and trade facilitation, as well as technical regulations in the field of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS).
Other issues discussed were technical regulations in the field of technical barriers to trade (TBT), government procurement, intellectual property rights, trade competition, transparency policies, dispute settlements, and trade and sustainable developments.
During the meeting, both parties agreed that the second negotiation meeting would be held in Indonesia in early 2017, during which they will discuss more comprehensive and substantive issues contained in the scoping paper.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded that total trade between Indonesia and the EU reached US$26.1 billion in 2015. In that year Indonesia's exports to the EU amounted to $14.8 billion and imports from the EU amounted to $11.3 billion. (ebf)
