Chairman of the DPR RI Budget Agency (Banggar) Said Abdullah criticized the dynamics of international trade which he considered to be increasingly irregular since the outbreak of tariff wars between the United States (US) and China in 2018.
"Since the tariff war broke out between China and the United States (US) in 2018, and continues today, even its escalation has spread to many countries after President Trump imposed tariffs on many countries, in fact we are heading for an irregular international order," Said said in his statement, Wednesday, July 23.
Said highlighted the long history of the world-free trading system that started with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) before turning into a World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995.
"These trade agreements and tariffs were made because many countries implemented economic protection after the great depression in 1930. GATT was formed with non-discrimination principles, transparent and imposed the equivalent between export and import products. GATT then grew and developed into a World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995," he explained.
He said that developed countries such as the US and Europe at that time were aggressively encouraging free trade in all regions and viewed tariff policies as a form of distortion of trade that should be free, as a market mechanism.
In addition, Said added that developing countries such as Indonesia are worried that the era of free trade will bulldoze goods that have not been considered competitive, and dominate the domestic market.
He assessed that in time, all countries were forced by developed countries to enter WTO membership and participate in the free trade arena.
"Of course, at the beginning of his participation in the WTO, developing countries such as Indonesia were battered, such as the fight between Daud andtendain in the free trade arena, due to inequality in product quality, price and production capacity," said Said.
Said said that countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia are starting to be able to compete in the global arena, while China has become a new major force in world trade.
"In 2024, China's global trade value reached USD 6.164 billion, beating USD 5.424 billion," he said.
However, Said strongly criticized the attitude of the US in responding to its lag with the unilateral tariff policy against a number of countries and even more ironically, none of the countries have sued the policy to the WTO.
"Surprisingly, when the US began to overtake, and its manufacturing products lost in competition, which affected their trade balance deficit, then unilaterally imposed tariffs on many countries," he said.
"It's sad and sad, none of the countries have brought this case to the WTO. Everything is actually busy negotiating with the US in a weak bargaining position. So it's not a negotiations, but a blessing. Only China has survived, firmly serving the US in the arena of tariff wars," he added.
Said also questioned the silence of the WTO on US protectionist policies and considered that the WTO was only active if its policies were in line with the interests of developed countries.
I invite all countries to think multilaterally. It's time for the WTO to prove themselves that they are sitting for international purposes. In the past, at the beginning of its formation, the developing country accused the WTO of being a tool for developed countries to encourage all countries to enter the era of free trade, so that they control the international market and those who do not enter the free trade arena are paid in installments and sanctions.
Meanwhile, Said invited all countries to think again multilaterally and it was time for the World Trade Organization to prove that its existence was truly for international purposes.
He said that at the beginning of its formation, developing countries had assessed that the WTO was only a tool for developed countries to force all countries into the era of free trade, in order to control the global market and countries that refuse, are ostracized and even subject to sanctions.
But now, he said that when the free trade system had been running and developed countries were actually unable to compete, the United States closed itself up by applying unilateral rates and this clearly contradicts the basic principles in free trade, namely trade without tariff barriers.
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"Why is the WTO silent? WTO's silence further confirms that WTO institutions are only needed when in line with the interests of the US developed country, if they are not in line, they are no longer needed," he added.
Therefore, Said called on world leaders to reunite international commitments, strengthen global institutions such as the WTO, IMF, and the World Bank, so that no one or two countries are free to act arbitrarily and selfishly in the global system.
"If the world does not need the existence of this international institution, it is better to disband it. Instead of its existence as if it does not exist. Why should we pay WTO, IMF and World Bank if in fact mall funding. In fact, spend in vain costs," he said.
He added that each country can solve its financial, trade and economic problems bilaterally and regionally according to their respective interests, such as through the G20, BRICS and ASEAN.
"But if we look at it important, there is still a glimmer of hope, let's join together more closely, make determination, strengthen and re-perfect the WTO, the IMF and the World Bank as a fairer international settlement path," he concluded.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
