Indonesia's export trade standards are stricter and may be reformed

Recently, according to foreign media reports, due to the impact of the new coronavirus epidemic, Indonesia has introduced stricter new trade standards, and this ongoing phenomenon has also brought great pressure to Indonesia's export products.

Natan Kambuno, director of trade security at the Indonesian Ministry of Trade, said safety and health factors were the driving force behind increasingly stringent trade standards during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, exporting countries' standards that are stricter than international standards have actually become a technical barrier for Indian exports.

In a statement on Thursday, Natan said that if goods certification requirements are to be met, Indonesia's main export products must prove that they meet the standards required by the exporting country. Such standard certification often becomes an obstacle because the standards applied by the export destination country are stricter than international standards. Therefore, goods certification requirements appear as technical barriers to trade, especially when certification becomes a condition for the export destination country to accept Indonesian products.

In addition, he explained some certification requirements that have actually become export barriers, including the EU Ecolabel certification implemented by the Cyprus Ministry of Finance and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Green Procurement Guidelines, as well as the EU's certification of low-profile land use conversion risk ( ILUC) or land conversion risk level for biofuel products entering the EU. In the announcement, Natan stressed that "some certification requirements that were originally used to ensure health and safety and sustainability have gradually turned into technical trade barriers, hindering the export of products from our trading partner, Indonesia."

In order for the certification requirements and standards compliance of exported goods to not become a barrier to exports , Natan said changes in trade standards need to be mapped so that Indonesian products can continue to penetrate export markets. Indonesia can also leverage trade cooperation with partner countries to address this challenge. "Through this cooperation, mutual recognition arrangements can be reached between the cooperating parties or countries, hoping that Indonesia's standards will be recognized without the need for additional due diligence," he said . Natan also said that Indonesia is actually capable of meeting international standards, judging by the availability of the Indonesian National Standard (SNI) and conformity assessment bodies for export priority products.

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