Brussels, 29/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - Indonesia is hoping to begin negotiations this year with the EU for a free-trade agreement aimed at boosting their bilateral trade.
The commissioner for trade, Karel De Gucht, and the Indonesian ambassador to the EU, Arif Havas Oegroseno, submitted a report on 28 June by a joint group of industrial, governments and academic representatives from the EU and Indonesia (Vision Group). This report looks at the feasibility of a free trade agreement between the EU and Indonesia. Bilateral trade between this country and the EU reached €20 billion last year. De Gucht welcomed the ambition displayed by the Vision Group for this agreement, which would be based on a triangular architecture, divided into specific chapters on market access, trade facilitation, investments and capacity consolidation. The report by the Vision Group suggests liberalisation of 95% of tariff lines, 95% of them would be covered by a nine-year period. This would include services and environmental issues, as well as non-tariff barriers. Investment and intellectual property will also be covered. On Tuesday, Ambassador Havas Oegroseno indicated that the Europeans and Indonesians would be able to launch negotiations in the context of the G20 summit at the beginning of November. The commissioner for trade, however, was a little more cautious and provided assurances that negotiations would begin “once the appropriate conditions had been met”. (E.H./transl.fl)