Indonesian Government will ratify seven bilateral trade agreement in the ASEAN, ASEAN+, and one Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The ratification will be stipulated through a Presidential Regulation.
Those are First Protocol to Amend the AANZFTA Agreement, Agreement on Trade in Services under the ASEAN-India FTA (AITISA), Third Protocol to Amend the Agreement on Trade in Goods under ASEAN-Korea FTA (AKFTA), Protocol to Amend the Framework Agreement under ASEAN-China FTA (ACFTA), ASEAN Agreement on Medical Device Directive (AMDD), Protocol to Implement the 9th ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS-9), and Protocol to Amend Indonesia-Pakistan PTA (IP-PTA).
Previously, Minister of Trade Enggartiasto Lukita said Indonesia is hoping to seal at least 13 bilateral and regional trade agreements, followed by a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) with several countries. The move aims to improve and widen market access for Indonesia’s exports.
He acknowledged that Indonesia lagged behind Vietnam and the Philippines in terms of market access. While enjoying a commodity boom, Indonesia neglected downstream industry while the other countries worked hard to attract investors and create free trade access.
