Imported cement required to meet Indonesian National Standard
The government of Indonesia is going to apply the Indonesian National Standard to imported cement starting from April 2007. The policy aims to protect the national cement industry and anticipate the flood of imported cement from China.
Director of Downstream Chemical Industry at the Department of Industry Tony Tanduk revealed the policy could force imported cement to be retained at ports for further quality tests.
"The policy can reduce possibilities for the entries of low-quality cements. The government hopes to be able to retain imported cements by three days at ports to be tested," he informed last week.
The Department of Trade has also notified the Required Indonesian National Standard to the World Trade Organization. With the notification, the Required Indonesian National Standard now can be applied internationally.
The international application of the Required Indonesian National Standard, he continued, was one of non-tariff barriers to buffer the invasion of products from other countries.
Director General of Agro and Chemical Industries at the Department of Industry Benny Wachjudi previously disclosed that the government was reviewing possibilities to raise duty on cement from 0% to 5% (Asean) and 20% (countries outside Asean) following the invasion of cement from over-production China.
With new cement plants in China, the cement production in China in 2007 is predicted to increase to 1.2 billion tons from 1.1 billion tons in 2006 and 964 million tons in 2005.
Published under Cement News
