Indonesia is mulling over a plan to impose temporary additional duties on imports of textile and textile products (TPT) as a safeguard measure to protect the domestic upstream industry from a recent surge in imports. The government has identified 121 products, including yarn and curtain fabric, which would be subject to the safeguard measure, a top official said.
As the country witnessed a recent surge in TPT imports, the government is considering imposing a safeguard measure, said the Finance Ministry’s fiscal policy head Suahasil Nazara in Jakarta. The move was taken after the government imposed anti-dumping duties for polyester staple fibre imports from India, China and Taiwan as well as Chinese imports of spin-drawn yarn following an investigation by the Indonesian Anti-dumping Committee (KADI). The duties became effective in early August and will continue for three years.
Nazara said detailed discussions on the safeguard measure would be held on October 17 to determine the rates, among other things, following a quick assessment by the trade ministry, according to a report. The Indonesian Trade Safeguard Committee (KPPI) recently launched an investigation into the upturn in fabric imports after a complaint was filed by the Indonesian Textile Association (API).
“From the preliminary evidence put forward [in the complainant], KPPI found a sharp increase in fabric imports. Moreover, there was a preliminary indication of serious damage or potentially serious damage to the domestic industry due to the sharp increase in import volume,” KPPI head Mardjoko said in a recent statement.
The volume of fabric imports rose from 238.22 tonne in 2016 to 413.81 tonne last year, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS) data. Similar investigations have also been undertaken by the KPPI for staple synthetic and artificial yarns since September as well as for curtain fabrics since June, among other products.
