ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA – Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), Anindya Bakrie is optimistic that the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA) negotiations can be completed soon, so that it can increase access to Indonesian products to the region, which have value US$17 trillion market.
“The trade agreement process has been going on for almost nine years. It would be good for Indonesia to be able to make IEU-CEPA, because it will open up access to a region that has a market value of US17 trillion,” said Anindya when he was a speaker at the 2024 Indonesia-Europe Investment Summit, which held by the European Business Chamber of Commerce (EuroCham) at the Office of the Ministry of Investment and Downstreaming, Jakarta, Monday, December 9 2024.
According to him, global trade is currently facing the threat of high import tariffs that will be imposed by the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump. That is why Indonesia must quickly complete a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with other large markets, such as the European Union.
Anindya said the IEU-CEPA agreement also provides benefits for the EU, considering that Indonesia supports 40 percent of the market in Southeast Asia or ASEAN. He hopes that existing issues can be addressed so that trade with the EU can run well.
“So, this is a strategic thing for Indonesia and the EU. “This is a breath of fresh air,” he said.
Anindya hopes that with the enactment of IEU-CEPA, Indonesia-Europe export and import transactions can increase two to six times. Apart from that, this agreement also opens up opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Indonesia to enter the world supply chain.
“Friends from Kadin, many of whom are also from MSMEs, can become part of the world supply chain. This is of course not only good for big players such as palm oil companies which sometimes like to have sustainability issues, but these friends can enter into various industry,” he said.
Not only does it boost transactions, this investment collaboration, according to Anindya, can also provide education from technology partners. This will bring national entrepreneurs to the next level.
“So, Kadin friends can do this as well as possible,” he said.
Trump policy
On the same occasion, Anindya also reminded that the United States’ high import tariff policy would be a serious threat to global trade in the future. The high import tariffs that US President-Elect Donald Trump will impose on several trade rival countries, for example China, will change the world trade landscape.
Anindya said the Indonesian government needed to anticipate protectionist policies that Trump might implement, including in the form of high import tariffs.
For this reason, Anindya appreciates the government’s decision to strengthen trade and investment cooperation with partner countries, especially Canada, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Japan and Australia.
Over the past 2.5 weeks, the Indonesian government has continued to optimize Global South cooperation.
“Partnerships with Latin American and Middle Eastern countries are also important. But with Europe this is strategic, even though it is not easy,” he said.
Meanwhile, the European Union Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam Denis Chaibi said that if the US government imposed high import tariffs, exporting countries such as China would shift their export markets to other countries, including Europe and Indonesia.
“We will probably feel the impact of US pressure on China, because China will likely try to sell more of its products to Europe and Indonesia,” said Denis.
For this reason, Denis hopes that Indonesia can immediately implement IEU-CEPA. Through this agreement, Indonesia can enter a wider global supply chain through Canada. (AT Network)
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