Indonesia agrees to eliminate duties on Japanese steel

The government in Jakarta intends to eliminate duties on Japanese-origin steel products of certain types which Indonesia itself does not manufacture - such as those used in the automotive and electronic industries - under the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) to be signed later in November 2006. Japan had insisted on the liberation of trade for a wider range of steel products which are not produced in Indonesia. However, as the director general of metal, machinery and textile industries within the country's industry ministry Mr. Anshari Bukhari commented, ’We intend to open the steel market only to the automotive and electronic industries under the EPA'.