REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian government will soon finalize a policy restricting the imports of hundreds of products and raw materials in response to the developing economic condition. Their number may be more or less than 900.
"True, we will discuss it. It will be finalized tomorrow," Industry Minister Airlangga Hartarto stated at the Presidential Palace compounds here on Tuesday.
The government continues to study the capability of domestic industries to produce goods as substitutes for the imported products and raw materials, as it will take several years to build industries to produce the goods, he noted.
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Hence, the government should select types of products, including raw materials, semi-finished goods, and downstream goods whose imports will be restricted, he noted. "Industries will surely buy domestic raw materials if they are available for working capital and efficiency reasons," he pointed out.
Moreover, the government will not impose sanction on industries that have not used domestic raw materials, he remarked. "We will not impose sanction on them. On the other hand, we will encourage incentives for investment," he said.
On the occasion, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani stated that the government will likely announce the types of products whose imports are restricted on Wednesday. "We will announce a regulation of the finance minister to that effect tomorrow evening or Thursday," she added.