Dissemination of Results and Process of International Trade Negotiations by the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia
Thursday morning 15 September 2016 Faculty of Economics and Business had the opportunity to be one of the few campuses chosen by the Directorate General of International Trade Negotiations, Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia to disseminate the results and the ongoing negotiation process. Present on the occasion was the Secretary of the Directorate General of International Trade Negotiations, Mr. Syamsul Bahri. The event, which was originally targeted to be attended by only 100 students, turned out to be very enthusiastic, so that the number of participants who participated in the socialization agenda reached 230 students.
On this occasion, 3 resource persons were presented, all of whom are experts in the field of international economics, both trade and finance. The first speaker is a lecturer at the Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Indonesia who is also active at LPEM FEB UI, namely Fithra Faisal Hastiadi Ph.D. The second speaker was the Chair of the Department of Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Dr. Yose Rizal Damuri. The last one is a lecturer and economist from the Faculty of Economics and Business, namely Rossanto Dwi Handoyo Ph.D.
The three speakers gave their views on the development of international trade cooperation, which in the last two decades was marked by the emergence of new international trade blocks following the deadlock of negotiations at the WTO (World Trade Organization) Level. This also indicates a more even distribution of power that is able to drive international trade activities, which previously had always been the domain of developed countries in the northern hemisphere, but has now been able to be balanced by the strength of developing countries in the southern hemisphere. These trading blocks are located in ASEAN with several surrounding countries such as China, Australia and Japan, and the recently emerged trading block, namely the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The above situation more or less provides an opportunity for Indonesia to optimize its foreign trade achievements. In this context, the Directorate General of Trade Negotiations plays an important role in smoothing the national export target. This is because international trade activities are not solely influenced by economic factors, but many non-economic factors are also the determining variables. Especially the non-tariff barriers imposed by trade destination countries on goods from Indonesia.
In the question and answer session and discussion, one of FEB UNAIR's senior lecturers, Mr. Soebagyo, noted the need for the government to prepare carefully before entering a free trade block, especially in terms of the competitiveness of domestic products. Mr Rossanto also agrees that Indonesia's competitiveness is still very weak compared to competing countries. So that comprehensive and thorough preparation is an absolute requirement before we decide to become part of the trade agreement block.
At the end of the event, Mr. Syamsul Bahri as secretary of the Director General of PPI conveyed several things related to trade negotiation activities with any country. The Directorate General of PPI will not sign an agreement unless the agreement opens market access for Indonesian entrepreneurs, creates new investment from partner countries, and there is capacity building from partner countries on Indonesia's economic performance.
