OVERVIEW

After eight decades without a legal framework that comprehensively regulates trade activities, Indonesia is now welcoming its Bill on Trade, which will provide a foundation legal basis for all trade activities conducted in the archipelago. The House of Representative passed a new Bill on Trade (“Bill”) on 11 February 2014, marking Indonesia’s preparedness to become more competitive moving towards upcoming free trade schemes, most importantly the ASEAN Free Trade Area in 2015.

The Bill was passed because progress in trade activities in Indonesia has not been able to meet the challenges of national development. As a consequence, the Bill was primarily passed to improve trade activities, as a key to stimulating economic development, and to provide opportunities and support infrastructure, as well as to develop a people’s economy, which includes cooperatives and micro, small and medium enterprises as the main pillar of national economic development.