The World Trade Organization (WTO) previously sued Indonesia regarding the nickel export ban which resulted in Indonesia’s defeat. This time, the WTO also plans to sue again regarding the cessation of Indonesian bauxite exports.
Today, it is reported that President Jokowi will announce the end of export activities for the bauxite mineral commodity. Related to this, Jokowi emphasized that he was ready to face the WTO lawsuit.
“Nickel will be sued, later it will be announced (the ban on bauxite exports) it will be sued again, it’s okay to use again. Later, we will announce that it will be sued again, it’s okay,” said President Jokowi clearly at the 2023 Indonesia Economic Outlook event, at Ball Room Ritz Carlton, Mega Kuningan, Jakarta, Wednesday (21/12/2022).
Stopping bauxite exports abroad is actually a government effort to get added value from exports. Therefore, the government is keen to oblige mineral companies, especially bauxite, to carry out domestic downstream.
President Jokowi stated that one of the important things that Indonesia had to do was downstream. “Stop the export of mineral and coal goods, we will stop. Indeed, we will not stop drastically, but one by one. Nickel has been completed. Today we will add more later and we will announce one commodity that we have after from here,” said Jokowi
Jokowi described that when the nickel export was stopped, state revenue through downstream nickel exports had skyrocketed to US$ 30 billion from previously only US$ 1.1 billion.
“There has been a jump in added value. Before that, how much we have been harmed for decades. Taxes can’t be paid if we also have dividends, we can’t get royalties, we can’t get export duties, we can’t open jobs, we can’t get one. Today we will add more later we will announce one commodity that we have after from here,” said Jokowi.
Jokowi said that Indonesia does not want to be forced to export raw resources that can be processed domestically.
“The colonial era left a long trauma for our nation. We were forced to do forced labor, we were forced to cultivate. At the moment we don’t want to be forced, including we don’t want to be forced to export,” Jokowi said at Grha Sabha Pramana, UGM, Sleman, Monday evening, 19 December 2022.
At the ASEAN-EU Summit, Jokowi also said that Indonesia had emphasized its position that in cooperation between countries, the government does not just want to move forward together, but equally. Thus, he said, no one party has the right to impose its will and use its standards to be imposed on other parties.
On the other hand, according to Jokowi, Indonesia has the opportunity to become a global food and energy bar. Moreover, green energy is currently needed by the world. Through the downstream program for its natural resources, said Jokowi, Indonesia has the opportunity to become a developed country with added value domestically.
