European Union (EU) aims to conclude the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) negotiations with Indonesia this year. Bernd Lange, Chair of the European Parliament's International Trade Committee, expressed optimism that the IEU-CEPA could be completed in 2023 through accelerated negotiation efforts from both sides. Having completed 14 rounds of negotiations in May, Indonesia and the EU will soon proceed to the next round on July 10, 2023. Lange emphasized the importance of promptly implementing CEPA, particularly amidst a world characterized by division, conflicts, and geopolitical competition. He stressed the need for a trade agreement with reliable partners in such a fragmented global landscape.
During the 14th round of IEU-CEPA negotiations in Brussels, Belgium, the parties discussed 18 key issues, including trade in goods, rules of origin, trade in services, trade security, investment, government procurement, transparency, and regulatory practices. Other topics addressed were dispute settlement, institutional provisions, intellectual property rights, state-owned enterprises, economic cooperation, capacity building, investment court system, subsidies, anti-fraud policies, energy and raw materials, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and technical trade barriers. Several chapters were resolved in that round, including SMEs, trade remedies, and transparency. These accomplishments followed previous agreements on customs and trade facilitation, regulatory practices, and sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
