President Jokowi Echoes Hating Foreign Products, The Effect Of Invading Cheap Chinese Goods Which Leads To The Hashtag #SellerAsingB KillUMKM?
JAKARTA - The government is serious about supporting micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to compete in the digital ecosystem. One of the ways is by echoing the proud national movement made in Indonesia (BBI). Along with that, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) wants his call to hate foreign products to be echoed.
This invitation to hate foreign products is motivated by improper practices in digital or online trade. Jokowi admits that he is worried that this improper practice will kill the micro, small and medium enterprises (UMKM) sector in the country.
Previously, the hashtag #SellerAsingB KillUMKM was busy on Twitter. This was triggered by the presence of a foreign seller called Mr Hu from China. These foreign sellers sell products imported directly from abroad at a lower price than similar products sold by local Indonesian sellers.
"If there is a digital trade practice that behaves unfairly to MSMEs, it must be regulated immediately and must be resolved immediately. Just last week I told the Minister of Trade, this is something that is not true in our digital trade. Killing MSMEs, be warned," said President Jokowi , when inaugurating the opening of the national working meeting of the Ministry of Trade at the State Palace, Jakarta, Thursday, February 4.
But unfortunately, Jokowi did not mention in detail what the intended incorrect practices were. Even so, he emphasized, this is an important task of the Ministry of Trade to support MSMEs and check these improper practices.
Furthermore, Jokowi said that all parties must defend, protect, and empower MSMEs to advance in class. Therefore, the BBI national movement must continue to be combined.
"The call to love our own products must continue to be echoed. Domestic products are echoed. Echo also hate foreign products. Not only love, but hate. Love our goods, hate foreign products," he explained.
Shift foreign products from strategic positions in mallsNot only that, Jokowi requested that shopping centers such as malls in various regions provide space for Indonesian-made products, especially MSME products. He said, strategic locations in shopping centers must be filled with brands from local products.
"Do not let the front room, strategic locations, instead be filled with brands from abroad, this must begin to be shifted. They are shifted to a place that is not strategic. A strategic place, a good location provides space for local brands," he said.
The former governor of DKI Jakarta said that Indonesia's population of more than 270 million people and as a very large market, people should be more loyal and love products made by the nation.
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Therefore, Jokowi asked that branding be attached so that people love original products made in Indonesia more than foreign products.
"So that our people really become loyal consumers of Indonesian products," he said.
China's trade practices have triggered Jokowi to hate foreign productsMinister of Trade M. Lutfi immediately clarified regarding Jokowi's invitation to hate foreign products. He admitted that Jokowi's statement was motivated by his report regarding the existence of e-commerce players or online shops selling cross-border products, aka cross-border goods.
"I need to clarify that there is actually a background that accompanies the President's statement, namely my report to him about practices that are not in accordance with trade regulations," he said.
Lutfi explained that these practices include fraud in trade by global e-commerce companies, such as predatory pricing. Through this practice, products are deliberately marketed at a much lower price, causing unbalanced competition.
In 2016-2018, said Lutfi, Indonesia has a home industry that produces headscarves or hijabs. They are able to employ 3,400 workers with a yearly salary of up to 650 thousand US dollars.
"When the industry advances in 2018, artificial intelligence by foreign digital companies is tapped, then the information is extracted, then the industry is made in China, then the goods are imported to Indonesia," he said.
According to Lutfi, the foreign company took data on Muslim fashion sales at the Tanah Abang Market. They collected data starting from the colors that people are interested in to the hijab model. In this way, companies producing in China are able to offer the price of hijab in domestic e-commerce up to only IDR 1,900 per sheet.
"This is predatory pricing, we cannot compete because the story in e-commerce is how about anti-dumping, prices to decrease, the death of competition, the death of MSMEs, this is what causes the hatred of foreign products conveyed by the President," he said.
Lutfi said, because this practice killed Indonesian MSMEs, whose export portion reached 95 percent of Indonesia's total exports, even though the contribution was only 13 percent, he stressed that this was shaking the people's economy.
The Ministry of Trade will issue a fair trade system regulationThe Ministry of Trade is preparing regulations that will regulate digital trading activities so that they run more fairly. Following President Jokowi's directive, which 'smells' of improper practices in digital trade for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
M. Lutfi said there were indications of the development of fraudulent practices in online trading in the country and had the potential to cause harm to traders and consumers.
Therefore, said Lutfi, the Ministry of Trade will implement a fair trade system for both offline and online markets. One of them is overcoming the problem of predatory pricing which damages prices in the market.
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Lutfi explained, predatory pricing is an activity that destroys competition by destroying prices. One way of ensuring trade orderliness is to ensure that there are no fraudulent buyers or traders.
"The indications are already there. We are studying. Buying and selling people must follow the rules. The Ministry of Trade is the referee, the regulator. We will ensure this market is fair," he said in a virtual press conference in Jakarta, Thursday, March 4.
The rules regarding competition and orderly commerce in electronic trading systems themselves have not been detailed in the regulations. Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 50 of 2020 concerning Provisions on Business Licensing, Advertising, Fostering, and Supervision of Business Actors in Trade Through Electronic Systems also has not specifically targeted this topic.
The Ministry of Trade, said Lutfi, will create fair trade conditions in accordance with trade principles that are profitable for both sellers and buyers. Therefore, said Lutfi, his party will issue regulations regarding fair trade.
"With the regulations that we are going to issue, we want to make sure there is no fraud and that it will ultimately benefit the industry and the national consumer market," he explained.
For your information, the hashtag #SellerAsingB KillUMKM some time ago has enlivened Twitter social media. Warganet is busy talking about the figure of 'Mr. Hu 'is reportedly a foreign seller who sells various household products and other goods at very low prices through a marketplace in Indonesia.
A netizen with the @LXJAEMIN account revealed that any purchase of goods originating from China must have been sent with one sender name, namely Mr. Hu.
The influencer, Dr. Tirta Mandira Hudhi, also spoke up about Mr. The Hu. He explained the action of Mr. Hu can damage the sustainability of MSMEs in the country. He revealed this through his personal Twitter account @tirta_hudi on Wednesday, February 17.
"Mr. @jokowi even though he has made the Proud program Made in Indonesia. But our citizens are used to buying cheap goods, where do they come from, the important thing is cheap. Wrong customer? Yo ora. That is the right of the customer to choose. This gap is used by e-commerce and foreign sellers. , "wrote Tirta.
This case sparked the curiosity of netizens to trace Mr. Hu. Their search eventually led to one name, namely Hu Jianhua, who is President of China Merchants Group Ltd.
Previously, Hu also served as Vive Chairman. In addition, he is a member of the board of directors of China Merchants Port Holding. One of the netizens, Milmul, in his account @gerobakmilmul explained that Mr Hu is the President Director of CMHK, which owns Sinotrans, the largest logistics company in China.
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