The Ministry Of Industry Claims That Indonesia's Trade Obstacles Are Still Small Than Developed Countries

JAKARTA - Indonesia is recorded to have the lowest number of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTB) and Non-Tariff Measures (NTM) compared to other countries in the world.

This is considered to be one of the inhibiting factors in an effort to increase the competitiveness of the domestic industry.

NTB and NTM are important instruments used by many developed countries to protect their national industries from the invasion of imported products. Unfortunately, Indonesia is still minimal in implementing this policy.

Referring to the data, Indonesia only has around 370 NTB and NTM currently in effect.

"Compared with China which has more than 2,800 policies, then India there are 2,500 more, the European Union is around 2,300. In fact, Malaysia and Thailand each have more than 1,000 NTB and NTM," said Ministry of Industry spokesman Febri Hendri Antoni Arif in a written statement, quoted Friday, May 9.

According to Febri, the imbalance in the number of protection instruments has caused the national industry to often lose competition in the domestic and global markets.

He considered, this is also one of the reasons why foreign products are so easy to enter the Indonesian market, while other countries have many trade barriers, especially developed countries.

"This is very pronounced when our manufacturing exports enter their domestic market. These countries require various NTB and NTM, such as standards, testing results, recommendations and so on, which must be met with Indonesian manufacturing products so that they can be sold in their domestic market," he said.

Febri said that his party continues to encourage the strengthening of industrial protection instruments through appropriate regulations, without violating the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

"We must be able to optimally utilize NTB and NTM so that domestic industries are able to grow and compete in a healthy manner," said Febri.

In addition, he continued, his party is also studying strategic sectors that require stronger protection through the implementation of NTB and NTM, such as the textile, chemical, steel, electronics and automotive industries.

"The goal is for us not only to become a market for foreign products, but also to strengthen and deepen the structure of the national industry," he said.

According to Febri, in the midst of working market conditions that are facing problems, the government will focus more on paying attention to the protection of domestic industries, especially from the onslaught of cheap imports.

"Because protecting domestic industries means protecting our workforce as well," said Febri.

Febri also hopes that the inter-ministerial and related institutions as well as industry players will jointly fight for national interests in an effort to face the global challenges that are increasingly complex today.

"With the spirit of collaboration and strong synergy among stakeholders and supported by proper coordination, we are optimistic that industrial performance can rise," he said.

To note, there is a survey report from the Tholos Foundation, which places Indonesia in 122nd place in the International Trade Barrier Index or the International Trade Barriers Index 2025.

The Ministry of Industry claims that the rating agency has not been transparent about its data and research methodology.

"This is very similar to abal survey agency that publishes the results of its survey ahead of the General Election, Presidential Election, or Pilkada. The agency should have published data, data sources and methodology used for ranking," explained Febri.

"Based on WTO, NTB and NTB, Indonesia is smaller than other countries, especially developed countries and neighboring countries in Asean," he continued.

Febri admitted that there are several parties who want Indonesia not to be able to become a developed country, especially in building its economy.

In fact, he continued, Indonesia has very large capital and potential, such as the availability of natural resources, opportunities in the domestic market and demographic bonuses.

"This capital is what we need to optimize, including in our efforts to develop the national industry as one of the main supporting sectors to realize the vision of Indonesia Gold 2045," he concluded.