The House of Representatives has recently approved a draft trade deal with the four-member European Free Trade Association (EFTA) that is expected to facilitate foreign investment and liberalize trade in goods and services, particularly commodities such as palm oil and raw metals.

The Indonesia-EFTA Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IE-CEPA) was approved by the House on April 9 and has been called Indonesia’s doorway to the wider European market. The non-European Union trade bloc consists of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

Shinta Kamdani, deputy chair of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said the agreement was expected to benefit Indonesian businesses that sold gold, nickel, crude palm oil (CPO), coffee, tea, footwear, fisheries products, wood furniture, webbing products and creative economy items.

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