The Indonesian government will not attempt to renegotiate a free trade agreement between Southeast Asian nations and China that will go into effect on January 1, but will request a delay in eliminating import tariffs on more than 300 Chinese products, officials said on Tuesday.
The Jakarta government had been under increasing pressure during the past week from domestic industry players who warned that more than a dozen sectors, including steel and textiles, could collapse because they were not ready to compete with low-cost Chinese imports.
Under the free trade agreement between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Indonesia is required to remove import duties on 6,682 Chinese products. The Indonesian ministry of finance is scheduled to issue regulations to remove all the duties before January 1 despite plans to request a delay on some products, officials said.