VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Indonesian Ministry of Industry continues to actively encourage international access and cooperation development in the industrial sector. The goal is to spur the national economy through synergies with strategic partner countries, particularly in the framework of free trade agreements (FTA). Director General of Resilience, Territory and International Industrial Access at the Ministry of Industry, Eko S.A. Cahyanto said in Jakarta, Friday (28/5) that Indonesia's participation in the FTA had some influence on Indonesia's trade performance, particularly exports. As the backbone of Indonesia's exports, the contribution of the industrial sector has reached US $ 131.13 billion or 80.30 percent of total national exports. In 2020, the total national export exceeded US $ 163.30 billion. Indonesia also recorded a surplus of US $ 14.17 billion for trade performance in the industrial sector. According to Eko Cahyanto, this is the largest surplus in the Indonesian industrial sector in the last 10 years.

He added, the opportunity for market access in the FTA should be handled together and maximally utilized because the access to trade liberalization that has been obtained by Indonesia is very large. On average, Indonesia's FTA partners have liberalized the majority of their import duties for Indonesian products. More than 90 percent of the total tariff posts of partner countries are zero. This extraordinary market access must be utilized maximally in order to boost export performance.
Eko Cahyanto also explained that since 2002, Indonesia has signed 18 free trade agreements, namely eight within the framework of the ASEAN Economic Community, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. There are eight agreements in the bilateral framework, including with Japan, Pakistan, Chile, Australia, Mozambique and South Korea.

Indonesia is also exploring free trade negotiations with around 20 other partner countries, including the Southern African Customs Union, consisting of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, and Swaziland.