PRESIDENT ADMITS ACFTA RENEGOTIATIONS NECESSARY

Bogor, W Java, Jan 21 (ANTARA) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono admitted that the implementation of the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA) needs to be renegotiated to prevent the emergence of serious problems in the national economy.

"There have been calls not to automatically implement the agreement. The government's view is quite clear and has been communicated to the DPR (House of Representatives). After conducting evaluation, we have concluded it is indeed necessary to renegotiate the agreement for certain cases," he said at a press conference after meeting with the chiefs of high state institutions here on Thursday.

The head of state said the talks were needed so that the agreement would not cause serious problems for the country's economy.
"Certainly the talks must be done well," he said.

Indonesia, he said, does not want to be considered defying what had been formulated by members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in which it is a member, moreover "Indonesia is the biggest economy in Southeast Asia and a member of the G-20."
In view of that, the President said, the government would manage the issue well including discussing it with the Chinese government.

"On the one hand the interest of the people must be protected and we must strengthen, prepare elements in our country better and on the other we also must continue to develop cooperation with Asean and other partners," he said.

The Asean-China free trade agreement has been carried out since January 1, 2004 through an "early harvest" program namely reducing tariffs on agricultural products including vegetables, soybeans and fruits.

As of January 2010 the agreement is entering the Normal Track (NT) I phase, imposing a zero percent tariff on 7,306 products or 83.61 percent of total tariffs on imported products reaching 8,738 products.