ISDS Case Map
China
Entering year 2010 is marked by the entry into a free trade area agreement between ASEAN and China, also known as the ASEAN-China FTA. Little attention was given to the possible impact of this FTA agreement to fulfill human rights in Indonesia.
In the latest and most authoritative warning about a new region-wide free-trade agreement with China, an executive with the state social security provider PT Jamsostek predicts that as many to two million Indonesians will be laid off because their firms can’t outperform their Chinese rivals.
Thousands of workers from across West Java staged a rally in Bandung on Wednesday, demanding the implementation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement be postponed in Indonesia.
Indonesia's coordinating minister for the economy, Hatta Rajasa, said on Monday that a letter had been sent to ASEAN seeking "further discussion" of its obligation to reduce tariffs.
China sees the agreement as a way of securing supplies of raw materials, while countries in ASEAN see opportunities in China's huge market.
A free trade agreement between China and its Southeast Asian neighbours, which takes full effect from January 1, will help China fill its urgent need for natural resources, a senior commerce official said on Tuesday.
When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, China and 10 Southeast Asian nations will usher in the world’s third-largest free trade area. While many industries are eager for tariffs to fall on everything from textiles and rubber to vegetable oils and steel, a few are nervously waiting to see whether the agreement will mean boom or bust for their businesses.
The comments from Chen Yunlin appeared to be aimed at assuaging opposition concerns that the pact could undermine Taiwanese sovereignty and lead to significant job losses on the island of 23 million people.
A senior Chinese envoy's visit to Taiwan for trade talks has sparked a backlash among critics who fear the Taiwanese government's China-friendly policies are opening the door to eventual unification with the mainland.
Indonesian cosmetics and herbal medicine producers are calling for an exemption for their products from the Asean-China free trade agreement. “It is not because we are not ready. The question is our products are even now having to compete with illegal Chinese imports which are usually cheaper but of questionable quality.”
