Developing a framework for supporting the performance of Trade in Services in Indonesia: identifying priority sectors for negotiations

The Project at A Glance

Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade (MOT) does not currently have a formal objective framework for considering and prioritising service sector offensive and defensive interests. The MOT sometimes uses certain indicators that might not consider relevant competitiveness and market access conditions. International Economics, therefore, is providing support to the MOT in identifying future priority service sector for negotiations.

The services sector is the most dynamic and promising sector of nearly any economy, and Indonesia is no exception. Indonesia, traditionally an industrial economy focused on the production of oil and gas, minerals, crude palm oil, electrical appliances, and rubber products, in recent years, transformed itself into a fully-fledged services economy. Given the increasing importance of trade in services, both as a part of the economy and as part of trade negotiations, trade policymakers must, whenever they are conducting negotiations with a possible preferential trading partner, be able to effectively determine whether a particular sector must be protected or liberalised, i.e. to determine the sector’s offensive and defensive interests. The aim of this activity is to support the MOT to identify future priority service sector for negotiations.

Our Strategy and Impact

Identifying the negotiating positions for trade in services negotiations is one of the critical steps that must be undertaken before engaging in the negotiations with the potential preferential trading partner. Our Team will be involved in two activities in this area:

Capacity building amongst Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade officials to conduct trade in services-related analyses in view of the ongoing negotiations and implementation of commitments, by specifically training trade officials in conducting quality desk research, to access and analyse information and data on international trade in services.
Development of six sector specific studies with the active involvement of MoT officers that will help identify the constraints that make them uncompetitive and hamper their ability to effectively contribute to export growth/performance.

Our Core Solutions

At International Economics Consulting Ltd., we support the public and private sectors in navigating the policy and negotiation landscape regarding international trade. This includes establishing robust monitoring and evaluation framework through sophisticated real-time dashboards and reporting systems to ensure the best outcomes. We provide advocacy services to empower delegations and negotiators to participate effectively in trade negotiations and deliberations and advocate for their countries’ interests and positions.