PALMOILMAGAZINE, BANDUNG – Indonesia and the European Union made significant progress during the 17th round of negotiations for the Indonesia-European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (I-EU CEPA) held from February 26th to March 1st, 2024, in Bandung, West Java.
Both parties maintained a positive momentum by successfully concluding three technical chapters and advancing discussions on market access for goods, services, and investment. The three chapters addressed Sustainable Food System Cooperation, Trade Technical Obstacles, and Institutional Clauses.
Johni, the Chairman of the European Union Delegation, remarked, “We are pleased with the outcomes of the meeting, which met our internal targets. Many issues were resolved, and those remaining were addressed on a smaller scale.
Also Read: Indonesia-European Union Trade Meeting Focuses on Technical Issues
We have agreed to engage in further dialogue to find mutually beneficial solutions and prioritize pragmatism in our negotiations,” as reported in the official statement by Palmoilmagazine.com on Monday, March 4th, 2024.
There were 12 issues to discuss in the round, such as, goods, service trade, investment, sustainable food system cooperation, goods origin – clause, energy and raw materials, trade technical obstacle, intellectual rights, and institutional clause, and anti-fraud clause.
“I do hope the positive trend in the last two rounds would be always maintained and the targets of President of Indonesia and President of European Commission to solve the negotiation in I-EU CEPA this year, would be realized. We always encourage to escalate communication intensity and meeting for both groups to negotiate,” he said.
In the spare time of the negotiation, both delegation chairmen did meet stakeholders from Indonesia and Europe. Not less than 25 representatives from chambers, associations and companies from both parties attended in the meeting to deliver their supports to accomplish the negotiation.
European Union is one main partner of Indonesia. In 2023, the total trade between both parties reached US$ 30,8 billion. In the period, exports from Indonesia to European Union reached US$ 16,7 billion, while the imports to Indonesia from Europe reached US$ 14,1 billion.
In the same period, the mainstay export products from Indonesia to the continent were crude palm oil and its fractions, copper ore and its concentrate, industrial mono-carboxylate fatty acid, liquid oil residue from vegetable’s extraction. While the main imports to Indonesia from Europe were cars and motor for passengers, medicine, vehicles for transporting products, pulp and paper machine, and pipes from iron. (T2)
