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Indonesia could suffer losses as great as, or even worse,
than those that other developing countries have suffered as a result of
entering into free trade agreements, such as the proposed Economic
Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Japan, says an international NGO.
"Through Free Trade Agreements (FTA), the developed countries squeeze
developing countries, such as Indonesia," Bert Maerten, Oxfam's
regional campaign coordinator for economic justice, told a conference
Thursday.
Oxfam is an international NGO that focuses on "poverty and injustice
alleviation."
"With these agreements, the commercial interests of the developed
countries prevent developing countries from growing their industries,"
he argued.
Last November, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe agreed on the key elements of the
proposed EPA, which some NGOs here say is a threat to the Indonesian
economy.
"We cannot predict the precise consequences that will accrue after the
signing of the agreement, but we can learn from what has happened in
other developing countries," said Tejo Wahyu Jatmiko, the coordinator
of SBIB, a local NGO network.
Studies by Oxfam show that more than 1.3 million Mexicans working in
agriculture were forced of the land during the first 10 years after the
coming into effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA),
which was signed by Mexico and its major trading partner, the U.S., in
1994. In addition, 200,000 manufacturing jobs were lost between 2001
and 2004.
To prevent this from happening in resource-rich Indonesia, Tejo said
the government needed to thoroughly sound out all aspects of the EPA
before signing it.
"The EPA is still at the initial stage. But what concerns us more are
the details that will follow," he said.
According to Tejo, the government had never been transparent about the
key elements of the proposed EPA, and had never sought submissions from
those who might be affected by its consequences.
He also said that the Japanese government appeared to want to "control
Indonesia", as shown, for example, by the fact that the Japanese side
had warned that it would not sign the EPA if the Indonesian parliament
failed to endorse the investment bill.
The bill was passed into law in late March amid strong protests from
local ultra nationalist and left-wing activists.
In addition, Maerten said that other countries in the region, like
Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, would also be affected by the
EPA with Japan.
Both NGO executives recommended that Indonesia pursue a multilateral
approach, rather than a bilateral one, with developed countries in
order to increase its bargaining power.
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