JAKARTA (TheInsiderStories) - House of Representatives and the government agreed to ratified the Indonesia - European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IE-CEPA), said trade minister today. The draft its expecting to become law in the near time.
“The government needs to take strategic policies to face the current global challenges in these full of uncertainty and encourages the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. One of them is the IE-CEPA Agreement,” minister of trade, Muhammad Lutfi, told the lawmakers on Tuesday (03/23).
He continued, the EFTA countries are ideal partners for Indonesia because they have strong purchasing power markets and having a large foreign investment value, which has not been utilized in a maximum capacity. This opportunity, he adds, can be used as an entry point for goods, services, and investment in the continent also has the potential export destinations for the complementary products from the country.
“In the future, we will ensure that the sustainability standard for Indonesian Palm Oil (ISPO) can accepted by Switzerland within the framework of the existing IE-CEPA cooperation,” the minister emphasized.
IE-CEPA negotiations have been initiated since 2005 between Indonesia and other countries EFTA (Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland) through the establishment of joint study group which was continued with negotiations since 2011. The negotiations suspended in 2014 and reactivated in 2016.
Then, the signing of the agreement approval was carried out on Dec. 16, 2018 in Indonesia. The IE-CEPA Agreement is Indonesia’ first trade agreement with countries on the continent of Europe. The Agreement is expected to enhance bilateral economic relations significantly and it will gradually eliminate the majority of tariff barriers, covering over 98 percent of bilateral trade value.
Preferential treatment includes tariff elimination by EFTA on all fisheries and manufacturing products, as well as better access for the majority of agricultural products, including coffee and palm oil. While, Indonesia will eliminate tariffs on most of its main imports from EFTA, including gold, medicines, textiles, chemicals, jams, fish products, machines, juices, tankers, and perfumes.
The IE-CEPA also included trade facilitation provisions which ensure more conducive and transparent trade regulations and customs procedures. In services, both sides will gain better market access in various services sectors, including the temporary movement of professionals, energy related services and telecommunication services.
The trade agreement is also expected to create an open, stable and predictable business climate for investors and stimulate greater flows of foreign direct investment. Then, both sides have committed to embarking on cooperation and capacity building on export promotion, tourism, small and medium enterprises, intellectual property rights, cocoa and palm oil, vocational education, as well as maritime and fisheries industries.
Written by Editorial Staff, Email: theinsiderstories@gmail.com
