RI’s wood exports to EU to enjoy lower duties

Indonesia’s wood products entering EU countries will get a tax cut from Jan. 1, 2009, until the end of 2011, the European Commission (EC) says.

Tax on wood products, such as sheets, will no longer be subject to the current tax of between 3 percent and 6 percent, while tax on plywood and boards will be reduced by 3.5 percent from the current tax of between 7 percent and 10 percent, the EC said in a statement Tuesday.

The decision was made after the EU member states adopted on July 22 a new regulation proposed by the EC, amending the preferential import tariff scheme to the EU called the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP).

“GSP is a vital tool for our pro-development EU trade policy. The continuation of GSP will ensure stability and predictability for beneficiaries and traders in the EU and developing countries,” EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said in the statement.

Preferential tariffs are either suspended or re-established whenever an individual country’s performance on the EU market over a three-year period exceeds or falls below a set level, the commission said.

According to the commission, the decision will allow continued preferential access for 176 developing countries to the EU market.

Indonesia will be granted increased preferential access for wood and wood byproducts under the new GSP scheme. Last year, more than US$4.9 billion worth of EU imports of Indonesian products were eligible for preferential tariffs from the EU.

In 2007, developing countries exported 57 billion euro worth of goods under the GSP, with a nominal duty loss for the EU of 2.5 billion euro. [The Jakarta Post]

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EU says RI airlines need more inspectors

By Desy Nurhayati

Indonesia has to improve its regulatory and safety monitoring systems if it wants a ban on flying in European skies lifted, the European Union has said.

A day earlier, the European Commission (EC) unanimously extended the ban on Indonesian airlines from flying to the region on the grounds the air transportation authorities’ oversight system is inadequate.

The ban was first imposed in July last year.

“The message to Indonesian authorities is to please take the corrective measures in such a way that you address the findings which have been made by the ICAO,” Pierre Philippe, charge d’affaires of the EC delegation to Indonesia, said Friday.

The ICAO, or the International Civil Aviation Organization, has questioned the nation’s air transportation safety system, in particular the lack of aircraft surveillance activities and inspectors.

“It’s really in the hands of the government to move fast. It doesn’t depend on us,” Philippe said.

Jean-Pierre Ambrosini, an EU aviation expert, said Indonesia had around 30 inspectors to oversee more than 50 airlines and hundreds of airports across the country.

“You check normally each aircraft two times per year minimum, but it’s impossible here,” Ambrosini said, as reported by Reuters.

“You check one aircraft every two years, every three years.”

No Indonesian carriers currently fly to Europe, but analysts said the ban would prove costly for the tourism industry here as Europeans have been warned not to use Indonesian airlines on transit routes, such as between Jakarta and Bali.

The government, while disappointed with the decision to extend the ban, said it would try to comply with the standard set by the EC.

As one measure, the government is in the process of amending the 1992 air transportation law. The draft of the revision is currently under deliberation by the House of Representatives Commission V overseeing transportation, public works and public housing.

Abdul Hakim, a member of the commission, said the committee was proposing to form an independent regulatory body that would be responsible for supervising all flight activities.

“Some of the committee members consider it essential to form an independent body to improve the efficiency of the flight system currently handled by the Air Safety Certification Directorate (DSKU) at the Transportation Ministry,” he said.

He said the proposed body would take over supervisory tasks from the DSKU, which would be responsible only for airline certification.

“The law, after being revised, will strictly regulate safety measures, including those for navigation equipment and the air traffic control system.”

Meanwhile, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has reaffirmed he will not pay a visit to any European countries unless the European Union revokes the flight ban.

Yudhoyono will fly to Europe only by national airline Garuda Indonesia, Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said at the presidential office on Friday.

“With or without the EU flight ban, Indonesian flight safety and security should always be improved. We are working hard on our programs,” he said. [The Jakarta Post]