Indonesia Won't Stop Downstreaming Despite Freeport's Lawsuit Plan: Jokowi

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Mining giant Freeport planned to contest the Indonesian government’s rules on the export duties for copper concentrate. In response, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo insisted that the downstream policy would continue despite the lawsuit.

“The downstream will not stop. After [the export of raw] nickel is banned, [the export of raw] copper, cobalt, bauxite, and others will follow,” he said at LRT Dukuh Atas Station in Central Jakarta, Thursday, August 10, 2023.

Jokowi said no country or organization could stop Indonesia's determination to pursue downstream industrialization because it would bring many benefits to the country.

The government, he added, still wants to export semi-finished and finished goods to add value to the natural wealth exported abroad. “I want our exports to be semi-finished goods and finished goods because we want the added value here,” he remarked.

Previously, PT Freeport Indonesia filed a lawsuit after Finance Minister Sri Mulyani released a regulation stating that copper concentrate exports would continue to be subject to duties of 5 percent to 10 percent. This rule would still apply even if the company's smelter construction exceeded 50 percent.

Freeport Indonesia claimed it had adhered to the special mining business permit (IUPK) agreed upon in 2018, which exempted the company from export duties if the smelter construction reached 50 percent. In March 2023, the government lifted the company’s export obligation as the construction progress hit 50 percent. However, in July 2023, the Finance Ministry revised the regulation.

M JULNIS FIRMANSYAH

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