VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Ministry of  Trade supports the simplification of international trade procedures. This was conveyed by Expert Staff on International Relations Dody Edward at the opening of the workshop "Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Workshop on Implementation Practices of Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) Implementation within APEC Economies: Opportunities and Challenges" in Badung Regency, Bali on  Wednesday (6/19).
"With the implementation of TFA, it is expected to simplify and harmonize international trade procedures so that they are more transparent and non-discriminatory," Doddy said.
According to Doddy, tariff barriers to international trade continue to decline. However, on the other hand there is a tendency for an increase in non-tariff trade barriers that are based on the implementation of standards, health, safety, safety and the environment.
"Incorrect implementation of non-tariff trade related barriers has an impact on increasing trade costs and administrative costs in international trade, which ultimately can be protectionist," Dody explained.
The workshop was held to improve the ability of APEC members in implementing their commitment to TFA, especially regarding the simplification of export / import procedures. In addition, the workshop also facilitated members to share their knowledge and experience in implementing TFA according to the agreement in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The two-day event was attended by 125 participants from the APEC Economy. In addition, this event is a form of realization of the agreement of Indonesia's initiatives through the Ministry of Trade which was submitted to the fora of the 2018 APEC Trade and Investment Committee in Papua New Guinea.
The event was attended by representatives of the APEC Economic embassy in Jakarta, ministries / institutions, academics, and the business world. Also present were experts on trade facilitation agreements including Yann Duval from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and Alexandre Larouche Maltais from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) as the speaker.
"It is expected that this workshop can produce recommendations for the implementation of the WTO FTA from the aspects of the legislative framework and bureaucratic downsizing, as well as the implementation of aspects of information technology communication and institutional procedures. "This recommendation will be presented at the meeting of the Trade and Investment Committee at the APEC forum in Puerto Varas, Chile in the upcoming August 2019," concluded Doddy. (kemendag)