"The Industry Ministry specifies only 30 percent of the industrial development policy."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - In order to enhance the country`s domestic industrial competitiveness, the government must learn more about international trade cooperation, Deputy Industry Minister Alex S.W Retraubun said here on Tuesday.
Speaking at a seminar on industrial competitiveness, Retraubun cited the negative impact of ASEAN China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) on Indonesia and said it was necessary for the government to learn more about foreign trade.
"Almost all parties failed to improve their competitiveness, thanks to the impact of the implementation of ACFTA, in which a lot of imported products flooded the domestic market," he pointed out.
Retraubun noted that the scarcity of energy supplies and high bank interest rates were the two main factors hampering the domestic industrial competitiveness.
"The Industry Ministry specifies only 30 percent of the industrial development policy. The lack of gas supply remains a problem, while high bank interest rates are one of the constraints in financing industrial sectors," he said.
According to Retraubun, there are 450 trade agreements around the world at present and the government is examining its trade agreement with South Korea.
"What the government must do to prevent South Korean products from flooding the domestic market is to make products with added value which be exported to that country," he stated.
Meanwhile, Trade Ministry Secretary General Anshari Bukhari said the trade agreement should help Indonesia expand its markets and strengthen its domestic industrial sector.
"We have to expand our export market to South Korea. The government must review the products that will be developed. South Korea has so far been a big investor in textile and textile products, footwear, and steel," he added.
(Uu.O001/INE/KR-BSR/B003)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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