JAKARTA – The government decided to limit the import of a number of commodities. This step was taken to control the current account deficit experienced by Indonesia today. Minister of Industry Airlangga Hartarto said that the government had evaluated 900 commodities subject to import restrictions. One of them is a luxury car above 3,000 cc.
“Regarding luxury goods, for example luxury cars above 3,000 cc, we will limit or we stop for a while,” he said at the Parliament Building, Jakarta, on Tuesday, September 4, 2018.
Although the government will control imports, Airlangga guarantees that raw materials for industry will not be restricted. This is to ensure that industrial activities are not disrupted.
“Yes, for the Ministry of Industry importing raw materials, auxiliary materials, capital goods is part of the investment to increase productivity. Of course we encourage it to keep going,” he said.
In addition to controlling imports, the government is also trying to spur exports by providing incentives for labor-intensive industries. Examples are automotive, textiles and textile products, chemistry and biochemistry, food and beverages, and electronics.
“Electronics are now still high in imports, we will boost their exports. But electronics need time, because if we talk about industry 4.0 we talk of internet of things so we still need a lot of steps,” he said. (*)
