Manufacturing News

New deal with Indonesia boosts Australian industry

Australian industries will benefit from duty free access for many steel, iron, copper and plastic products as part of a new Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA) signed on March 4.

IA-CEPA will deliver significant benefits to Australia’s manufacturing and resources sectors.

Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews said IA-CEPA would help to further strengthen Australia’s economy, as well as ties between the two countries.

“The Australian steel industry will benefit in particular, with Indonesia agreeing to issue import permits for all rolled steel coil products.

“Importantly, Australia’s merchandise exports to Indonesia were approximately $7 billion in 2017, making Indonesia Australia’s 9th largest export market in 2017,” said Andrews.

“Securing duty free or significantly improved preferential arrangements by 2020 on over 99 per cent of Australian goods exports to Indonesia will further grow our trade relationship with this very important regional partner.

“This agreement recognises the commercial benefits of our continued cooperation and represents enormous potential growth for both Australian and Indonesian industries,” she said.

Indonesia remains a growing market for Australian goods and services exporters, and total two-way trade with Indonesia was worth $16.4 billion in 2017, making Indonesia our 13th largest trading partner.

Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said it takes two to trade.

“You can’t have a buyer without a seller or an exporter without an importer, it has to be a partnership. That is why the name of this agreement, the Indonesia-Australia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, is more than a title, it aptly describes the ongoing cooperative partnership that will be forged between our two business communities.

“Australian investors are valued for their commitment to staff development and safe workplaces, and value their investments in Indonesia for the opportunities it gives them to add value to their products and services locally and for the huge market opportunities. The guarantees for Australian investment under IACEPA will encourage more Australian companies to explore their options and to make the leap into Indonesia,” said Willox.

“For the first time Australia and Indonesia will guarantee the free flow of ‘data’ or ‘information’ across borders for service suppliers and investors as part of their business activities. This ‘movement of information’ or ‘data flow’ is relevant to all kinds of Australian businesses – from a manufacturer with offshore sales offices and online order systems to a telecommunications company providing data management services to businesses in both countries,” he said.

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