Protectionist Move Will Hurt Food and Beverage Industry

The government plans to respond to the import duty imposed by the EU on Indonesian palm –oil products. Trade Minister Enggartiasto Lukita suggested retaliatory responses towards European products.

The minister assertively stated that the government was ready to impose retaliatory import duties to the European dairy products. He had already notified the food and beverage companies using the products to look for non-EU suppliers like Australian and New Zealand companies. There is also a possibility to expand the retaliatory import duties to other European commodities such as processed foods, horticulture (vegetables, fruits, and flowers), livestock, and other manufactured products