Indonesia govt need to carefully reconsider impacts before joining TTP

Indonesia President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo on monday expressed Indonesia’s intention to join the TPP while delivering a speech before representatives from a number of US companies. But according to economist Ina Primiana, government need to carefully reconsider the long term impact of joining the US-led Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) since the cooperation was deemed not necessarily beneficial for the country.

Ina said that when it comes to international trade agreements, they should really consider the benefits and impacts more widely.

The government must work hard to ensure that the realization of Indonesia’s participation in TPP in the next two years would not be counter productive to the improvement of industry competitiveness.

However, the government should coordinate with industries and associations so that the industries will be able to make necessary preparations.
She also said that Indonesia usually suffered from a trade deficit when it was involved in free trade agreements due to cheaper imported goods.

For example, in terms of the textile and textile products [TPT] industry, will Indonesia be able to compete with Vietnam by joining TPP as Vietnam, the country’s main competitor in the particular sector, had already joined the partnership.

Earlier, Trade Minister Thomas Lembong said that the country could join the partnership two years after it finished all the necessary preparations, including providing incentives to local businesspeople.