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Indonesia to leave out 'sensitive' rice, weaponry, alcohol from RCEP tariff lines
The three commodities are among the 9 percent of tariff lines Indonesia is leaving out of its commitment under the recently signed multi-country trade pact.
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A screenshot shows the leaders of 15 Asia-Pacific countries and the ASEAN secretary-general (bottom left) during the virtual signing ceremony of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on Nov. 15, 2020. (Courtesy of Trade Ministry/-)
I
ndonesia plans to exclude the “sensitive” commodities of rice, weaponry and alcoholic beverages from its scheduled commitment to eliminating tariffs in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
“These are the sectors that we always consider to be very, very sensitive for Indonesia,” Iman Pambagyo, the Trade Ministry director general for international trade cooperation, said in a virtual discussion. “We never include them in our commitment under any agreement.”
Earlier this month, Indonesia joined the nine other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) along with Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand in signing the RCEP. The participating countries of the landmark deal represent nearly one-third of the global economy.
Quoting data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the Trade Ministry said that the RCEP countries accounted for 61.6 percent of Indonesian exports and 71.3 percent of its imports last year.
Read also: Indonesia banks on RCEP for reduced uncertainty in trade
Trade Minister Agus Suparmanto said earlier on Nov. 15 that the RCEP was deemed necessary amid the challenges to global trade from the US-China trade war, waning confidence in the World Trade Organization (WTO), increased competition in new markets and growing protectionism.
Indonesia has committed to eliminating 91 percent of its tariff lines in the coming years under the world’s largest free trade agreement (FTA), with rice, weapons and alcoholic beverages among the 9 percent of tariff lines excluded from the deal.
