VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Global trade in goods is expected to fall 9.2 percent in 2020, but will be followed by a 7.2 percent increase in 2021, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said on Tuesday in its latest statement on revised world trade predictions.

In April, the WTO had forecast a decline in the volume of world trade in goods for this year of between 13 percent and 32 percent as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts economic activity and normal life around the world.

"World trade is showing signs of bouncing back from the deep decline caused by COVID-19," explained the WTO economists in a press release.

It added that "the strong trading performance in June and July has brought some signs of optimism for overall trade growth in 2020."

However, the WTO's latest forecast for next year is more pessimistic than the previous forecast of 21.3 percent growth, leaving goods trade well below its pre-pandemic 2021 trend.

The WTO warned that "the impact of the ongoing pandemic could disrupt any recovery. "

WTO Deputy Director-General Yi Xiaozhun told a press conference that the trade impact of the crisis has differed dramatically across the region, with "relatively moderate declines" in trade volumes in Asia and "stronger contractions" in Europe and North America.

WTO senior economist Coleman Nee explained that "China supports trade in the (Asian) region" and "Chinese import demand underpins intra-regional trade" and "helps contribute to global demand". Although the decline in trade during the COVID-19 pandemic was of similar magnitude to the 2008-09 global financial crisis, the economic context is very different, said WTO economists.

"The contraction in GDP has been much stronger in the current recession, while the decline in trade has been more moderate," they said.

The volume of world merchandise trade is expected to fall only about twice as much as world GDP, rather than six times during the 2009 collapse. (Antaranews)

The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) has issued emergency use authorization (EUA) for two antiviral drugs, favipiravir, and remdesivir, to treat COVID-19 patients.

The BPOM also granted permits in September to several pharmaceutical companies to produce the drugs.

Data from the Office of the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister show that the government had previously given contractors the go-ahead to import COVID-19 medication such as remdesivir, favipiravir, oseltamivir, and lopinavir-ritonavir, all of which will be distributed directly to hospitals treating coronavirus patients.

BPOM head Penny K Lukito expects that the emergency use authorization issuance will help accelerate access to those drugs for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients.

Hopefully, the drugs will help improve COVID-19 recovery rates and bring down the mortality rate from the pandemic.

Penny Lukito further said she hoped doctors and health workers would cooperate in monitoring the efficacy and safety of those drugs under pharmacovigilance. (JakartaPost)

President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) said the performance of the agricultural sector, which continues to grow at a positive level during pandemic must be maintained.

In a virtual limited meeting from the Presidential Palace, Bogor, Tuesday, President Jokowi said the growth momentum of the agricultural sector must be continued to sustain the welfare of farmers and fishermen.

In the second quarter of 2020, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the agricultural sector still grows up to 16.24 percent quarter on quarter (q to q) when there are many other business sectors contracted to a negative level due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

If viewed annually, the agricultural sector also continues to grow by 2.19 percent (year on year / yoy).

"We need to maintain the momentum of this positive growth in the agricultural sector so it has a significant impact on the welfare of farmers and fishermen," President Jokowi said at a meeting on Farmers and Fishermen Corporations in Realizing Economic Transformation.

"I would like to remind all of us that amid a pandemic the agricultural sector has contributed the highest to the national economic growth is in a slowing position," the President said.

The President also asked the line ministries and related institutions to realize a business model that can increase the economic capacity of farmers.

If the economic capacity of farmers in groups has increased, it will be easier for farmers to get access to finance and access to information technology, and have sufficient capital to strengthen their marketing.

"This is about exporting farmers and fishermen to improve their standard of living and now in realizing economic transformation," Jokowi said.

The President also asked the ranks of ministries, local governments, and BUMN to help farmers build a larger business scale, from production to post-harvest business. (Antaranews)

The House of Representatives (DPR) and the Indonesian government on Monday passed a controversial omnibus bill into law amid mounting criticism over its provisions on labor rights, indigenous community rights, and environmental protection.

“According to what we heard, once again let me ask for approvals in this plenary session, can we all agree? (to pass the bill into law)" Deputy House Speaker Azis Syamsuddin from the Golkar Party, who led the session, asked fellow house members.

Most representatives attending the plenary session approved the bill’s passage into law.

Before the deliberation, all political parties presented their views on the Omnibus Bill on Job Creation. At least six parties firmly endorsed the omnibus bill, while the National Mandate Party presented a note on the bill.

Two parties — Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) and Democratic Party/Partai Demokrat — opposed the bill’s passage.

Following political party representatives, the government presented its views on why the bill needed to be passed into law.

The House and the government-held at least 64 meetings to deliberate on the bill, said the chairman of DPR’s legislative body, Supratman Andi Agtas, at the plenary session.

“The (final) omnibus bill on job creation comprised 15 chapters and 185 articles, while in the previous draft, the bill consisted of 15 chapters and 174 articles,” he noted.

According to Agtas, with the passing of the omnibus law, seven laws mentioned earlier in the bill stand scrapped:
Law No.40 Year 1999 on Press; Law No.20 Year 2003 on National Education System; Law No.14 Year 2005 on Teachers and Lecturers; Law No.12 Year 12 on Higher Education; Law No.20 Year 2013 on Medical Studies; Law No.4 Year 2019 on Midwifery; and, Law No.20 Year 2014 on Standardization and Assessment.

However, the House and the government have decided to include four other laws: Law No.6 Year 1983 on Taxation; Law No.7 Year 1983 on Income Tax; Law No.8 Year 1983 on the Sales Tax on Luxury Goods; and, Law No.18 Year 2017 on the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

Agtas also assured investors the law will cut bureaucratic red tape and expedite business permits through the use of a single system — Online Single Submission (OSS). The omnibus law will also speed up procedures for business certification, he added.

The omnibus bill on job creation was first proposed by the Indonesian government, and they submitted its final draft to the Parliament in February this year. Deliberations on the bill had taken around six months to complete with lawmakers and the government holding meetings on weekends, including a hearing last Saturday.

The bill, according to its supporters, aims to increase both domestic and foreign investment inflow, while creating a more attractive investment climate, in the next five years, following the President’s re-election last year.

The aim is clearly reflected in the bill’s 15 chapters, in which articles on business and investment dominate regulations on manpower. Of the total 905 pages, at least seven chapters cover relaxations on doing business with corporations and investors. They include easing procedures on environmental impact analysis, which is now mandatory for all kinds of business operations.

According to environmental and human rights advocates, the revision would hurt indigenous groups and efforts on protecting the environment. Even before the omnibus bill, many indigenous groups in Indonesia were involved in disputes with corporations due to land acquisitions, the most notable case being the Samin indigenous group in Kendeng mountains versus state-owned cement manufacturer PT Semen Indonesia.

Despite the concerns, the omnibus bill's proponents would be more likely to highlight its foremost aim: boosting economic growth.

However, a promise that the bill might spur the economy would not be enough for most of its opponents.

"Our concerns are that the omnibus bill will hurt labor. Because some regulations will allow foreign unskilled workers (to be employed), it will be a massive use of outsourcing, flexible working hours, and a change in payroll scheme from monthly to hourly," KSPI chairman Said Iqbal noted in a statement.

Iqbal, who has been a vocal opponent of the bill, said the existing Law No.13 Year 2003 on Manpower protects labor and their right to a fair allowance and decent treatment in the workplace.

"(If the system is changed), companies will arbitrarily determine labor's working hours and the salary they should pay to us," he pointed out. (Antaranews)