Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan at the Trade and Investment Ministerial Meeting (TIMM) G20 in Jaipur, India, August 24, 2023 (Photo: kalsel.antaranews.com)Jakarta (VNA) - Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan hopes that Japanwill immediately eliminate four tariff posts on canned tuna imports from Indonesia aspart of the protocol to amend the Indonesia-Japan Economic PartnershipAgreement (IJEPA).
He noted that Japan hadeliminated some tariff posts on canned tuna from the Philippines, Thailand,and Vietnam. Therefore, he hoped Japan would do the same to Indonesia's cannedtuna.
The minister said that thetariffs elimination for canned tuna is an absolute requirement to completenegotiations on the IJEPA Amendment Protocol.
He said that the 50thanniversary of the ASEAN-Japan relationship should be utilised by maximizingrelations between Japan and each ASEAN member country, including Indonesia.
Therefore, this momentum is a good opportunity for Indonesiaand Japan to quickly conclude these negotiations, he added.
The minister is optimisticthat the two countries can announce the completion of theIJEPA Amendment Protocol negotiations on the sidelines of the 2023 ASEAN Summitin Jakarta in September, and sign the intended protocol at the ASEAN-Japan 50thAnniversary Summit in December 2023 in Tokyo.
Indonesia's exports to Japanamounted to 9.4 billion USD while Indonesia's imports from Japan totaled 6.8billion USD, with a surplus of around 2.5 billion USD for Indonesia.
In 2022, Indonesia's totaltrade with Japan reached 42.0 billion USD, an increase of 29.2 % compared to2021. While Indonesia's exports to Japan were recorded at 24.8 billion USD, the highest in the last five years (2018-2022).
On the other hand,Indonesia's imports from Japan amounted to 17.1 billion USD and Indonesiarecorded a surplus of 7.6 billion USD./.
