JakartaGlobe-May 20, 2024
Indonesia is hoping that New Zealand drop the lawsuit over food import restrictions, arguing that Jakarta had already made adjustments according to what the international trade body had asked for. In 2014, New Zealand sued Indonesia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the Southeast Asian country’s import restrictions on horticultural, animal, and animal products, including beef. The US also lodged a similar lawsuit. The Muslim-majority Indonesia argued that its rules were necessary to protect the halal food standards. Indonesia said that the restrictions were also needed due to health concerns and sought to deal with the temporary surpluses in the domestic markets. New Zealand’s lawsuit — also known by its code DS477 — saw the WTO panel ruling in favor of Wellington, saying that Indonesia’s restrictions were inconsistent with the body’s rules. Indonesia also lost the appeal to this case, prompting Jakarta to take corrective measures. Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan recently met with New Zealand’s Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk in Peru. The talks took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) ministerial meeting. According to a press release, the two ministers talked about the DS477 lawsuit, among other trade-related issues, during which Indonesia asked for a closure on the DS477 dispute. “Indonesia is committed to implementing the rulings and recommendations by the WTO’s dispute settlement body for the DS477 case,” Zulkifli told Peck. Read more at:
