Indonesia's Ministry of Trade Joint Task Force Focuses on Seven Categories of Illegal Imports

The Ministry of Trade's special staff in charge of international trade agreements has indicated that a task force on the elimination of illegal imports will soon be established and that the final draft regulating the work of the task force has been completed and is awaiting the signature of the Minister of Trade.He hopes to have it done in a day or two, the final draft is already available and only needs to be approved by the Trade Minister so they can start working on it immediately. The working group will try to stop unauthorized imports from coming into the country, this working group is also a plan to resolve disputes over illegal imports in addition to the implementation of the anti-dumping import duty (BMAD) and the safeguard measures import duty (BMTP). Therefore they have also coordinated with business organizations and relevant ministries, and the Ministry of Trade has communicated with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN), the Indonesian Employers Association (APINDO), the Textile Association, and the Indonesian Association of Retailers and Shopping Center Tenants (HIPPINDO). The ministries are in the process of setting up a task force with the participation of other ministries to be able to deal with illegally imported goods. The proliferation of illegal imports in the country meant that local industries were unable to compete in the marketplace because unlicensed imports were cheaper than domestic products.

The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) requested that the Task Force on Elimination of Illegal Imports formed by the Government involve other ministries and agencies, and that other parties need to comply with the requirements of their competence on import restrictions. The Vice President of the organization, the Legal and Communications Coordinator of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin), said that the task force must involve the Customs Directorate General of the Ministry of Finance in dealing with border matters. In the case of imported raw materials, the Task Force must involve the Ministry of Industry. He emphasized the importance of law enforcement in the work of the task force, in which case the task force could cooperate with the police, and after the task force acted and discovered fraud, the perpetrators must be prosecuted according to the law. He claimed that the Government concealed from mention the discrepancy in import data between domestic and exporting countries, and that there was a numerical difference between the two. The task force would therefore monitor illegal imports in seven areas, namely textiles (TPT), readymade garments, ceramics, electronics, cosmetics, textile manufactured goods and footwear. Illegal imports are now worrying him as he found seven imported shirts selling for Rp100,000, a price that is impossible considering the price of raw materials and the costs involved. The Government must protect MSMEs in accordance with globally applicable rules.