U.S. requests WTO dispute panel over Indonesia’s ag trade restrictions

The dispute settlement panel will examine Indonesia’s import restrictions on fruits and vegetables, animal products and other agricultural goods.    The United States on Wednesday asked the World Trade Organization to establish a dispute settlement panel to examine Indonesia’s range of import restrictions on fruits and vegetables, animal products and other agricultural goods.
   These measures include a ban on poultry and certain meat products and Indonesia’s trade-restrictive import licensing regimes for horticultural products, animals and animal products.
   “Indonesia’s prohibitions and restrictions have unfairly limited opportunities for U.S. farmers and ranchers to export their world-class products to Indonesia’s large and growing market,” said the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in a statement.
   The United States is working with New Zealand on this dispute. The Oceania country has also requested a WTO panel to examine Indonesia’s import restrictions.
   Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world and an increasingly important export market for many U.S. agricultural products, with exports of agricultural products affected by Indonesia’s import licensing regimes totaling nearly $200 million in 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
   In 2014, U.S. exports of affected horticultural products to Indonesia exceeded $122 million – including $50 million of apples and over $37 million of grapes. In the absence of Indonesia’s trade-restrictive import licensing regime, however, the United States would expect U.S. farmers to be able to compete more effectively for sales to Indonesian consumers.
   Comparatively, in 2014, exports of affected horticultural products to Malaysia totaled $128.5 million, $6 million more than exports to Indonesia, despite the fact that Indonesia’s population is over eight-times larger than Malaysia’s.
   U.S. exports of affected animals and animal products totaled $63.2 million in 2014. The United States expects its producers to compete more effectively in the Indonesian market without the trade restrictions. For instance, U.S. exports of affected animals and animal products to the Philippines, a similar Southeast Asian market, totaled $248.3 million in 2014 and its population is 25 times smaller than Indonesia’s, USTR explained.
   Since 2012, Indonesia has maintained restrictive licensing requirements for imports of horticultural products, animals and animal products. Indonesia has amended these rules several times, adding additional trade-restrictive requirements. The United States consulted with Indonesia in January 2013 and, working together with New Zealand, consulted with its representatives again in August 2013 and in May 2014 to address the modifications to Indonesia’s import licensing restrictions. 
   USDA said agricultural products affected by Indonesia’s import licensing regimes and related prohibitions and restrictions include fruits, such as apples, grapes and oranges; vegetables, such as potatoes, onions and shallots; dried fruits and vegetables; flowers; juices; cattle; beef, including a ban on secondary cuts; poultry, including a ban on chicken parts; and other animal products.