INDONESIA NEEDS MORE TIME TO DECIDE ON JOINING TPP by Fardah

Jakarta, Feb 17, 2016 (Antara) - President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) has stated that Indonesia is still calculating the benefits and disadvantages of joining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement that the United Sates has forged with 11 other countries.          Before attending the US-ASEAN Summit on February 15, Jokowi had said his working visit to the US was not related to the TPP Agreement.          "So, we are here, but it has nothing to do with TPP this time," the president told the press in Miramonte Resort, Indian Wells, California.          During his previous visit to the US last October, Jokowi did tell US President Barack Obama that Indonesia intended to join the TPP.          But, this time, he stated that his government would need to study the benefits of joining the pact.          Besides, it would take a long process of up to two or three years to be accepted as part of the TPP, he noted.       The TPP still needs to be ratified by individual countries before new members can join, a process that could take years before Indonesia can even apply to be accepted.          Supporting the president's view, Trade Minister Thomas Lembong confirmed the long journey that Indonesia must undertake to acquire TPP membership, citing both political and technical processes.          "We wanted to join because of our national interest to improve our economy and create jobs. The President has been very firm and clear in his instructions to negotiate properly and to defend the national interest, as well as make sure that this is beneficial for us," the minister said.          The Indonesian industry ministry is still studying the 6,000-pages of  documents of the TPP agreement to learn about its impact on the domestic industry if the country finally decides to join the trade pact.          "We are studying (the possibility). If we want to and they accept us, we would join the new pact not earlier than 2020,"  Director General of Development of Access to International Industry, Achmad Sigit Dwiwahjono, said on Feb. 16.          Sigit said Indonesia  could submit a proposal to join the 12  country pact  after the agreement has been ratified  by the United States  and other member countries.          The process of ratification is estimated to take two years and ratification is predicted to be wrapped up in 2018, he said.          It will take two more years for negotiations, which means Indonesia could join it by 2020, if it wanted to, he said.          "I do not even believe that negotiations with the 12 members countries could be wrapped up in two years," he added.          In the meantime , the country's exports to the United States are feared to decline in 2018 after the agreement is ratified by the member countries, he said.          Exports of similar commodities from member countries such as Vietnam and Malaysia would be more competitive in price as they would be entitled to customs duty exemption .          Earlier this month, Vice President Jusuf Kalla met with a number of cabinet ministers to discuss Indonesia's preparedness to join the TPP.          "We discussed planning technicalities, the negotiation strategy and the economy in general," Trade Minister Thomas Lembong said at the Vice President's office after a recent meeting.         The cabinet ministers who attended the meeting included Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, Agriculture Minister Amran Sulaiman, Industry Minister Saleh Husein and head of Capital Investment Coordinating Board, Franky Sibarani.         The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs planned to set up  a team to study the cost of joining it, Minister Lembong said.         US President Barack Obama in his opening remarks at the US-ASEAN Summit hosted for the first time by the US only mentioned the trade pact in one sentence.         "In joining the TPP, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have committed to high labor and environmental standards," Obama said.         Four of the ten ASEAN countries - Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam, are part of the TPP agreement, and several others, including Indonesia, Philippines, and Thailand, have expressed an interest in joining in the future.         The TPP agreement was signed on February 4, 2016, in Auckland, New Zealand by Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.         The TPP is one of the most ambitious free trade agreements ever signed, the BBC wrote.         Those in favor say that this trade deal will unleash new economic growth among countries involved.         Those against - particularly some Americans - fear it could mean jobs will move from the US to developing countries.  They also do not like the fact that the five-year talks were held largely in secret.         The pact aims to deepen economic ties between these nations, slashing tariffs and fostering trade to boost growth.         Most goods and services are involved, but not all tariffs - which are taxes on imports - are going to be removed and some will take longer than others. In all, some 18,000 tariffs are affected, according to BBC. ***3*** (F001/INE) EDITED BY INE/H-YH  17-02-2016 22:44:58