US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab and Indonesia’s Trade Minister Mari Pangestu last week signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation to prevent the illegal transshipment of textiles and apparel through Indonesia to the United States.
The signing ceremony followed a meeting between Ambassador Schwab, Trade Minister Pangestu and Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla that focused on the bilateral trade relationship and opportunities to expand economic ties between the United States and Indonesia, the largest nation in the Southeast Asia region.
The MOU provides for customs cooperation, identification of textile and apparel manufacturers, and joint verification visits to provide each country’s government with the information necessary to stop textile and apparel transshipments.
The MOU is also the latest achievement in ongoing work under the bilateral US-Indonesia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA). The TIFA, which was established in 1996, seeks to further strengthen the close ties between the US and Indonesia and to enhance two-way trade that currently stands at around $16.5 billion per year.
The TIFA provides the two sides with a forum to identify, raise, and resolve matters that might otherwise hinder the development of bilateral trade and investment ties.
"This MOU establishes a formal mechanism to help safeguard legitimate textile trade between our two countries, while stopping illegal textile transshipments," observed Ambassador Schwab. "Today’s agreement demonstrates a commitment by the United States and Indonesia to work together to strengthen our trading relationship."
In their meeting, Ambassador Schwab, Trade Minister Pangestu and Vice President Kalla discussed issues on the US–Indonesia bilateral trade agenda, including the enforcement of intellectual property rights (IPR), removal of barriers to exports of US fruits to Indonesia, and reviving the World Trade Organization Doha Round.
The United States has previously concluded MOUs to combat illegal textile and apparel transshipments with the Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau, and is in the process of negotiating an MOU with Taiwan. These issues are also being addressed in the comprehensive bilateral free trade agreement negotiations that are ongoing with Korea and Malaysia.
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