Statement from Indonesia Citizen to President Jokowi: "Ommit the Commitment about TPP"
Statement from Indonesia Citizen to Jokowi
The US-ASEAN Summit, Feb 15-16:
"Ommit the Commitment about TPP"
Jakarta, February 15, 2016. A group of civil society organizations urged that the President of Indonesia Joko Widodo did not make any commitments towards the TPP in a meeting of the US-ASEAN Summit which will be held on March 15-16 in California, USA. They are also reminding the President to not make a politic statement again, which will harm Indonesia’s political future.
TPP Treaty is reaping many protests from various parts of the world community, particularly the members of the TPP itself. Indonesian society argued that any TPP Treaty will only cause more harm to Indonesia rather than its benefits. President Jokowi should be more focus on the success of the implementation of the national development agenda, and not on the TPP.
During this time, the success of Indonesian Government in answering various question of national development is still questionable. For example, the implementation of policy packages regarding the increase in competitiveness, Nawacita implementation, achievement strategies on 17 SDGs agenda and the implementation of food sovereignty.
The existence of TPP will only become a threat to the priorities agenda of national development which has been proclaimed by President Jokowi before. There are some critical notes on the impact of TPP’s towards national development agenda, namely:
1. The provisions of the prohibition on local Content in the TPP will hamper the downstream industry agenda plan on increasing the competitiveness of Indonesia, particularly facing the ASEAN Economic Community (MEA). This agenda requires the use of local content up to a certain percentage, such as activities in infrastructure development, the President has instructed so that every infrastructure project can absorb the local production of cement, iron, and steel by 30% of its total needs. In fact, the liability in the law of minerals and Coal (Minerba) which requires the mineral and mining industry use the local content by 30% in the production process.
2.Standard TRIPs-Plus in the TPP will weaken the role of the national pharmaceutical industry and public access to affordable medicines will further away. This is because with the monopoly of the patent medicines that are currently dominated by multinational pharmaceutical companies ultimately did not allow Indonesia to have a national pharmaceutical industry in which capable of producing drugs with affordable prices. Moreover, patent rights became one of the investment objects in the TPP which can become a dispute investment between multinational corporations against state (Investor-State Dispute Settlement/ISDS).
3.The provisions chapter of STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES in TPP will derail the STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES Road Map developed by the Indonesian Government. This is because, the TPP requires STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES should not be treated special and should be treated the same as the private business sector (non-discriminatory treatment) in commercial activities such as the activities of the purchase or sale of goods or services. Moreover, downstream pillar and local content in the STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES Road Map will be countered back with a rule of prohibition on local content in the TPP.
4.The provisions of Regulatory Coherence within the TPP will perpetuate the economic gap and contrary to the 17 achievement agenda of sustainable development (Sustainable Development Goals/SDGs). This is because, the TPP will require revising the whole of Indonesian legislation regulation and adapted to the TPP provision that in fact more pro against the investment. Whereas to eliminate the gap (inequality), the 10th aims on the SDGs is require the country to abolish the policy of discrimination and adopt a policy which can achieve equality specifically related to financial policies, wages, and social protection. In addition, the existing ISDS mechanism within the TPP will remove ’ policy space ’ of the state to make policies which pros against the interests of the poor.
5.The opening of market access of goods within the TPP will turn off the micro enterprise sector of Indonesia. This is because of the easy imports will progressively open the tap of imports, which at the end the sector of micro enterprises will continue to be eroded by the presence of imported products with cheaper price. Moreover, the application of the principle of non-discrimination in the TPP will only put the micro enterprise sector in a position which has always defeated when the micro sector aligned with large-scale business sector.
6.The provisions of the protection on plant varieties and patents in the TPP will eliminate the sovereignty of Indonesian peasants against seeds. TPP requires that States parties join into UPOV 1991 (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plant, 1991). UPOV Convention does not accommodate the rights of peasants over seed, banned seed exchanges, some prevalent practices among peasants. This system is also made to accommodate the industry’s seed. So with this provision Indonesian Peasants would lose rights over seeds that they has since been passed down through generations, and at the same time encourage the commercialization of seeds and concentration of ownership in large companies and multinationals.
7. Investment protection provisions in the TPP will push the country under the control of multinational corporations. TPP agreements regulate the mechanism of ISDS and the standard protection of foreign investment that is required by the State. ISDS mechanism is a mechanism that can be used by foreign investors to sue Indonesia due to the application of the policy which is considered to adverse them. This is certainly caused an impact against ’ Policy Space ’ which is owned by the State. So the function of the State in making policies to protect the public interest and protect the civil rights will become ’ captivated ’. Therefore certain public policies that are contrary to the interests of investors will be ignored. The progress and development of national industrialization based on the civilian small business will be increasingly hampered, and continue to lead in the de-industrialization era. Moreover, the protection of civil rights by the State will be getting lost in the name of the investment.
From the critical notes above, President Jokowi should not push Indonesia join into the TPP. Moreover, after the signing on February 4th 2016, up to now the Treaty of TPP has not yet ratified by the 12 States Member and not applicable yet and binding. The refusal of the community towards the TPP in 12 States Member led to the process of ratification which has not yet been done. Even in the U.S. alone, the U.S. Congressmen who are in charge were not doing the ratification against TPP because this agreement is considered problematic.
Seeing this, then President Jokowi no need to state any decisions regarding of Indonesia joining into TPP in the US-ASEAN Summit.
Thus, we urge President Jokowi in order to be in a meeting of the US-ASEAN Summit held on 15-16 to:
1. Do not make any commitment to Indonesia related TPP.
2. To balks at the insistence of President Barack Obama to join the TPP.
3. The focus on the form of cooperation that is able to encourage and support the aims of national development in Indonesia, particularly strengthening the economy of the small people, like peasants, fishermen, laborers, small merchants and informal and small woman’s businesses.
Jakarta, February 15, 2016
Signed, Masyarakat Indonesia Tolak TPP:
Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ)
Indonesian Human Rights for Social Justice (IHCS)
Indonesian Peasants ’ Alliance (API)
Indonesian Peasants’ Union (API)
Indonesian AIDS Coalition (IAC)
The Coalition for Affordable Medicine (KOM)
Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
Bina Desa
KP-KPBI (Confederation Of Labor Struggle In Indonesia)
INFID
SatuDunia
Kemitraan
KIARA
Safenet Voice
Woman Solidarity
ASEC Indonesia
Synergy Indonesia
JATAM
Publish What You Pay (PWYP)
LIPS
AGRA
GSBI
Semar UI
Indonesian Student Union (SMI)
IKAPPI
KruHA (Coalition for the people’s right to water)
FITRA
