Jokowi Ensures The International World Can't Stop Indonesia's Downstreaming

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

JAKARTA - Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said that any country and organization cannot stop Indonesia's policy of downstreaming natural resources.

"Anyone, any country, any international organization, I don't think it can stop our desire for industrialization, for downstreaming," said President Jokowi at Dukuh Atas LRT Station, Jakarta, quoted by ANTARA Thursday, August 10.

Jokowi said he was not worried if the Indonesian government would be sued again by corporations or other countries for downstreaming.

Recently, Freeport Indonesia reportedly planned to file an objection or lawsuit against the regulation on the tariff for metal mineral concentrates signed by Finance Minister Sri Mulyani on July 12, 2023. The rules in question are contained in the Minister of Finance Regulation (PMK) No. 71/2023 concerning Determination of Export Goods Subjected to Exit Fees and Exit Fees.

"Yes, it's okay (if there is an objection), what is clear is that downstreaming will not stop, downstream after we stop nickel, then go to copper, to cobalt, later enter bauxite again, and so on," said Jokowi.

The sustainability of downstreaming, said Jokowi, is because the government wants the added value of the economy of natural resources to be optimally beneficial in the country.

President Jokowi explained that from the policy of stopping the export of nickel raw materials in 2020, Indonesia received an increase in state revenue from exports of added value goods.

"When exported raw materials, raw materials for about Rp. 17 trillion a year, after entering industrial downstreaming, downstreaming to Rp. 510 trillion. Just imagine that we only took taxes," he said.

The increase in state revenue comes from Value Added Taxes, Income Taxes (Bity Income Tax), Employee PPH, corporate PPH, export duty royalties, and other non-tax state revenues.