Ambassador Wants Equal Market Access for U.S. Firms
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20 November 2019 17:09 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The United States Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph R. Donovan Jr. requested for U.S. companies to be given equal access to the Indonesian market. His request comes with a commitment that Washington would double the value of trade from today's US$30 billion to US$60 billion.
"As US Trade Minister Wilbur Ross said when he was here, Indonesia could achieve 7-percent GDP growth by giving US companies the same opportunity to compete in the Indonesian market," Joseph said in a media roundtable at his residence in Jakarta, Tuesday, November 19.
Right now, Joseph said, President Joko Widodo or Jokowi wants to develop Indonesia's human resource capacity. Joseph said American companies such as IBM, Apple, Qualcomm, Mastercard, Citibank, and Cargill are ready to help train the workforce and develop technology in Indonesia.
When asked if America feels their companies have not been given equal access compared to other countries, Joseph said that he could not speak for other countries.
However, he admitted that U.S. companies are often disappointed when investing in Indonesia. One reason is the ever-changing regulations.
"This is what we seeking to resolve with the Indonesian government," he said.
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