Services Trade in Indonesia

Foreword

Services and services trade play an increasingly important role in Indonesia’s economy as they represent new sources of growth, job creation, and overall wellbeing. This study explores patterns, policies, and reform scenarios of Indonesian services trade building on the OECD’s expertise, data, and analysis. The stylized facts and findings presented here aim to inform the discussion on a co-ordinated policy action amongst Indonesian policy makers and stakeholders so as to maximise the contribution of services trade to the country’s economic development.

This study covers the role of services trade in the Indonesian economy at both the aggregate and granular sectoral levels; the regulatory environment for services trade, including domestic regulatory and policy developments, as well as the relevant services trade disciplines in Indonesia’s regional trade agreements; and potential reform packages that target services trade, with an assessment of their potential impact on the Indonesian economy.

This study was prepared by the Trade Policy Division of the OECD. It was funded by a voluntary contribution from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia, and its scope and structure were designed in close collaboration with the Directorate of Services Trade Negotiations in the Ministry of Trade of Indonesia. The analysis relied on OECD databases, as well as on in-house and academic research in the area of services trade reforms.

Acknowledgements

This publication was prepared by Frederic Gonzales, Janos Ferencz, Matteo Fiorini, and Ana-Maria Muresan. The authors are particularly indebted to the Secretary General of International Trade Negotiations of the Government of Indonesia, Ms. Basaria Tiara Desika L. Gaol, to the Director of Trade in Services Negotiation, Mr. Mochamad Rizalu Akbar, and to their team, in particular to Indra Prahasta Ignatius and Ika Yulistyawati, for their detailed and constructive feedback. The authors would like to thank Christine Schaeffer from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of Australia and Professor Christopher Findlay for their precious comments. The authors are very grateful to Mattia Cai, John Drummond, Massimo Geloso Grosso, Andrea Goldstein, Laura Kuusela, Antonella Liberatore, Javier López González, Annabelle Mourougane, Silvia Sorescu, Enxhi Tresa, Cristiana Vitale, and Carmen Zürker for their inputs and insightful comments. Finally, the authors would like to thank Nadia Kallista for outstanding research assistance, Michèle Patterson and Marc Regnier for their invaluable editorial support, and Laëtitia Christophe for administrative support.