Prabowo Orders Review of Textile Import Rules to Protect Domestic Industry

President Prabowo Subianto has asked the government to review the rules for importing textile raw materials while tightening supervision of imported used clothing or balpres that disrupt domestic manufacturers. This direction was conveyed during a meeting regarding the textile and textile products (TPT) industry at the Presidential Palace, Jakarta, Tuesday, September 22, according to Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto. According to Hartarto, one of the problems faced by the TPT industry is the difference in tariff policies between upstream and downstream industries. Garment industry players had previously expressed objections to the imposition of antidumping duties on certain raw materials. "The President asked us to review the pertek and others," said Hartarto. Pertek is a technical approval that is one of the requirements in the import process of certain goods. On the other hand, the garment industry is facing disruption from the entry of imported clothing and balpres. Prabowo asked the Directorate General of Customs and Excise to immediately regulate it. Hartarto explained the difference in trading conditions between the textile and garment raw material industries. Last year, imports of textile raw materials reached US$8.4 billion, while exports were only US$3.1 billion. In contrast, the export of finished clothing reached US$8.7 billion, while the import was around US$690 million. With this condition, Indonesia is still a net importer of textile raw materials, but a net exporter of finished clothing. The TPT industry contributed around 0.97 percent to the gross domestic product (GDP), absorbed around four million workers, and generated exports of around US$12 billion. The growth of the TPT industry reached 5.6 percent, while the leather and footwear industry grew 8.25 percent.