The central government is urged to sign more bilateral free trade agreements because Indonesia’s export products currently miss out on competitiveness as regional counterparts – such as those in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam – can enjoy little or zero import duties under such agreements with specific trading partners, while the Indonesian government remains hesitant to be engaged in these deals. Indonesia is currently only involved in two bilateral trade deals: (1) Indonesia-Japan EPA (2008) and (2) Indonesia-Pakistan PTA (2013).

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