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Indonesia seeks greater market access, investment from Australia through new trade pact
Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said the deal would enhance market access for Indonesia’s products and make them more competitive in Australia.
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Indonesian President Joko Widodo (L) shakes hands with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison after signing the official visitors book at Parliament House in Canberra on February 10, 2020. Australia and Indonesia on February 10 announced a 100-day "action plan" to implement a long-awaited trade deal, a decade after negotiations began on the multi-billion-dollar agreement. ( AFP/Lukas Coch / POOL)
From automotives and textiles to education and energy services, Indonesia seeks to expand market access and attract investment from Australia through the new Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA).
Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said the deal would enhance market access for Indonesia’s products and make them more competitive in Australia.
“We are hoping that this agreement will reduce Indonesia’s trade deficit by boosting our exports,” said Agus in a video posted by the Foreign Ministry over the weekend.
Indonesia posted a trade deficit of US$3.2 billion last year, lower than the $8.6 billion deficit in 2018.
Statistics Indonesia data showed that both exports and imports contracted last year, dragging down the country’s economic growth. Indonesia’s gross domestic product grew by 5.02 percent last year, the slowest pace since 2015.
According to a document posted on Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website, the trade deal is intended to eliminate all remaining tariffs on main Indonesian imports into Australia and ease the requirements for Indonesian electric motor vehicles to enter the Australian market.
