After facing obstacles due to the extension of safeguard duty policies, Indonesia has finally been able to resume the smooth export of powdered detergent products to Madagascar. This announcement was made by Madagascar to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and was published on June 7, 2023.
Back in 2019, Madagascar had indeed imposed safeguard duties on imported powdered detergents, including those from Indonesia. This policy restricted imports if a country felt that an increase in imports was causing serious injury or a threat of serious injury to its domestic industries. Following investigations on February 18, 2023, Madagascar initiated an extension of safeguard duty for powdered detergent products with tariff codes 340249, 340250, and 340290. The good news is that Indonesian detergent products were exempted from this extension of safeguard duties. Indonesian Minister of Trade, Zulkifli Hasan, also known as Zulhas, welcomed the reopening of the export channel for Indonesian powdered detergent products to Madagascar, especially in anticipation of Indonesia's 78th Independence Day celebration. He emphasized the need to maximize this opportunity for increased competitiveness in the market.
Unlike countries like Egypt, Turkey, and Mauritius, which will continue to face safeguard duty restrictions for four more years, Indonesia has been fortunate to be exempted from such limitations. Budi Santoso, Director General of Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Trade of Indonesia, highlighted the collaborative efforts taken by the Indonesian government and relevant exporters during the investigation, resulting in Indonesia being excluded from the application of safeguard duties. For those curious about the numbers, according to data from the Central Statistics Agency, Indonesia's exports of powdered detergents to Madagascar were valued at $5.4 million in 2018. Although this value decreased to $4.6 million in 2022, the export value for January to May 2023 increased by 2.81 percent compared to the same period the previous year.
Source:
https://sampaijauh.com/indonesia-ekspor-bubuk-deterjen-lagi-ke-madagaskar-40043/amp
