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Government mulls plan to impose temporary duties on imported textile products
The Finance Ministry’s fiscal policy head, Suahasil Nazara, said the government had identified 121 products, including yarn and curtain fabric, that would be subject to the safeguard measure.
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Merchants and buyers pack the Tanah Abang Skybridge that connects the railway station to the famous Tanah Abang textile market in Central Jakarta on Thursday. (The Jakarta Post/Dhoni Setiawan)
The government is mulling a plan to impose temporary additional duties on imports of textile and textile products (TPT) as a safeguard measure to protect the domestic upstream industry from a recent surge in imports.
The Finance Ministry’s fiscal policy head, Suahasil Nazara, said the government had identified 121 products, including yarn and curtain fabric, that would be subject to the safeguard measure.
“Lately, we have seen a jump in imports of TPT. In line with the existing rules, we are considering to impose a safeguard measure, which is a type of measure that can be officially taken by Indonesia if there are increases in imports that could potentially harm the domestic industry,” said Suahasil in Jakarta on Monday.
The move was taken after the government imposed antidumping duties for polyester staple fiber imports from India, China and Taiwan as well as Chinese imports of spin drawn yarn following an investigation by the Indonesian Antidumping Committee (KADI). The duties came into effect in early August and will last for three years.
Suahasil said detailed discussions on the safeguard measure would be held on Oct. 17 to determine the rates, among other things, following a quick assessment by the Trade Ministry.
The Indonesian Trade Safeguard Committee (KPPI) recently launched an investigation into the upturn in fabric imports after a complaint was filed by the Indonesian Textile Association (API).
“From the preliminary evidence put forward [in the complainant], KPPI found a sharp increase in fabric imports. Moreover, there was a preliminary indication of serious damage or potentially serious damage to the domestic industry due to the sharp increase in import volume,” KPPI head Mardjoko said in a recent statement.
The volume of fabric imports rose from 238.22 tons in 2016 to 413.81 tons last year, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data.
Similar investigations have also been undertaken by the KPPI for staple synthetic and artificial yarns since September as well as for curtain fabrics since June, among other products.
