BALI - The Ministry of Trade (Kemendag) responded to the plan to make a positive list of imported goods which was previously rejected by the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs (Menkop UKM) Teten Masduki.
Deputy Minister of Trade (Wamendag) Jerry Sambuaga said his party would be selective in terms of imports. This means that the positive list will prioritize raw goods or raw materials that are not available in Indonesia.
According to him, the raw materials will become capital for domestic industries whose products will be re-exported later.
"So, in our opinion, this is something that provides added value, we are not just importing consumer goods or consumptive ones, no," Jerry told reporters when met at the High Level Ministerial Meeting: Policy Dialogue at the ASEAN Inclusive Business Summit 2023 forum in the Nusa Dua area, Bali, Wednesday, August 23.
Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry said imports of raw materials for domestic production capital would make a significant contribution to Indonesia's trade balance. He referred to Indonesia's trade balance which had a surplus for 38 consecutive months.
He said the surplus indicated that Indonesia's exports were greater than its imports. As of June 2023, based on BPS data, Indonesia's exports exceeded the US$20 billion mark. In fact, in 2022, it broke the highest figure in Indonesia's history, amounting to US$54.46.
In addition to prioritizing raw materials, said Jerry, the positive list will also include imported products that cannot be produced domestically.
According to him, the policy of importing products that cannot be produced domestically is commonplace to meet needs.
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"If we can't produce domestically, yes, of course, the logical consequence is importing from outside," said Jerry.
Previously reported, the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) did not approve the proposal to make a positive list or list of items that were allowed to be imported at a price below 100 US dollars or equivalent to Rp. 1.5 million in the revised Regulation of the Minister of Trade (Permendag) Number 50 of 2020.
"I don't agree with that (positive list proposal). This is in accordance with the direction of the President because, right, we actually want to encourage downstreaming in the country," said Teten.
Teten prefers that the government imposes import duties on these imported products. The import duties apply to all imported products, without being distinguished based on the positive list.
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