Indonesia hopes India will reconsider its plan to impose anti-dumping import duties on Indonesian VSF

Indonesia is open to negotiating a trade agreement that focuses on the interests of its own as well as India.

Indonesian Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan and Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal held a meeting in New Delhi.

Zulkifli Hasan expressed his expectation that Indonesia and India can immediately begin negotiating the bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which has been under consideration since 2020.

He believes that the PTA can optimize the economic potential of the two countries. Indonesia is open to negotiating a trade agreement that focuses on the interests of both countries.

During the meeting, he also expressed hope for the Indian government to reconsider its plan to impose anti-dumping import duties on Indonesian viscose staple fiber (VSF) products, which are a supporting raw material for the Indian textile industry.

He further noted that one of Indonesia’s biggest VSF producers is interested in investing in India to develop eco-friendly lyocell fiber products of better quality. The investment is expected to help Indonesia contribute to the manufacturing of high-quality textiles in India.

The two ministers also discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation in various sectors including textiles.

They also discussed several issues that hindered efforts to increase bilateral trade, including the exports of Indonesian tire and fiber products to India.