Nickel Industry Is Already Observational, Jokowi Is Not Worried If Indonesia Loses Again At WTO

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) (Doc: State Secretariat)

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) revealed that Indonesia will continue to make appeals after being sued by the European Union in the World Trade Organization (WTO) regarding the ban on nickel ore exports.

Jokowi hopes that the next leader will have great guts to take risks, in order to continue downstreaming Indonesian nickel. If there are no more legal remedies, there is no problem because the nickel industry in the country is ripe.

"Later, if you lose again, there will be no even higher effort, that's okay, the industry has been completed, I estimate that in 3 years this industry will all be finished," Jokowi said at a meeting of the national leader of the Jokowi Young Ulama Solidarity or Samawi at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Saturday 7 October.

Jokowi predicts that in the next few years, downstream nickel industry will be more mature. The raw goods processing industry into finished goods or semi-finished goods will be formed. For this reason, the next Indonesian leader is very influential.

"Once again, in the upcoming leadership in 2024-2034, it is very decisive that our country becomes a developed country or does not progress," concluded Jokowi.

Jokowi said the government would try to provide added economic value to the country, which was obtained from exports of semi-finished goods, not raw goods, including downstream nickel.

"We just stopped nickel in 2020, we were sued by the European Union, sued under the WTO. Many ministers asked, 'Sir, we are being sued', so face it, find a good lawyer, we will face it. Don't be sued by big countries, we will withdraw, it won't become this country," said Jokowi.

Jokowi emphasized that if the efforts to appeal downstream nickel are unsuccessful, the government will seek all possible legal remedies.

Unfortunately, he did not explain further the legal action in question. He only revealed that industrial downstreaming must be continued, because it provides economic value to increase many times for Indonesia.

When Indonesia exports raw nickel, the revenue received per year is only IDR 15 trillion. However, when Indonesia exports nickel processed goods, revenue soars to IDR 510 trillion.

"I need to explain when we export raw materials, per year we only get Rp 17 trillion, after processing it into finished goods, iron, steel, stainless steel, the value becomes Rp510 trillion. We get much more, value added tax, company taxes, non-tax state revenues (PNBP), export duties, royalties, dividends, continue to be collected in the APBN," Jokowi explained.