Thailand
Indonesia: Industry associations welcome eased export policy
Exporters have welcomed the government’s short-term policy to boost exports by reducing the number of the commodities requiring surveyor reports (LS’s) and those on the restricted exports list.
Indonesian Exporters Association (GPEI) chairman Benny Soetrisno said the government’s plan to ease export procedures was a good step, because the LS process required time and was costly for exporters.
Benny believed the policy would facilitate exporters in the near future, but questioned its sustainability.
Indonesian Coal Mining Association (APBI) executive director Hendra Sinadia also appreciated the government for introducing the policy, as he believed it would help improve export performance. Hendra mentioned that he had never experienced any problems with the LS process.
Separately, Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) deputy chairman Shinta Widjaja Kamdani said the government needed to improve its regulations continuously to improve export performance and introduce incentives to encourage exports.
“The government has given us incentives in the form of tax holidays, tax allowances, and others. But if the procedures are complicated and arranging permits is difficult, they would have a more negative effect on export performance,” Shinta said recently as quoted by kontan.co.id.
She also called on the government to closely monitor policy implementation and to synchronize regional export policies.
Shinta stressed that in the long run, the government needed to focus on opening more markets for Indonesian products through cooperation agreements with countries that currently imposed high tariffs on Indonesian products. (bbn)
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/01/28/industry-associations-welcome-eased-export-policy.html