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PRESS/TPRB/216
30 June 2003
(03-3420)
TRADE POLICY REVIEW: INDONESIA
Reforms must continue to achieve growth and attract investment
Trade liberalization and other structural reforms undertaken by Indonesia since the severe crisis of
1997 have successfully stabilized the economy and fostered growth. But the economy remains
fragile and the recent global downturn has heavily reduced foreign investment on which theeconomy critically depends, according to a report on the trade policies and practices of Indonesia
released June 30 by the WTO Secretariat.
The report notes that further trade and other structural reforms, including strengthened
governance and institutions, are necessary to alleviate poverty, to provide the basis for the
sustained growth of the economy and to help boost investor confidence, something which thecountry urgently needs.
The report calls for greater transparency and public scrutiny of trade policies especially in sensitive
sectors, where trade policy seems to be set on an ad hoc basis. It also points out that accelerated
privatization and further reforms to state-owned enterprises together with deregulation and
measures to foster competition could also help improve the economic environment.
The WTO report, along with the policy statement by the Government of Indonesia,  will serve as a
basis for the fourth Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Indonesia by the Trade Policy Review Body of theWTO on 28 and 30 June 2003.
The following documents are available in MS Word format on the WTO web-site. They can be
downloaded at http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp216e.htm
• Secretariat report
> Contents and summary observations
> Economic environment
> Trade policy regime: framework and objectives> Trade policies and practices by measure
> Trade policies by sector
> Appendix tables
• Government report
Chairperson’s concluding remarks
• Minutes of the meeting (available approximately six weeks after the meeting).PRESS/TPRB/216
Page 2 of 2
Note
Trade Policy Reviews are an exercise, mandated in the WTO agreements, in which member
countries’ trade and related policies are examined and evaluated at regular intervals. Significant
developments that may have an impact on the gl obal trading system are also monitored. For each
review, two documents are prepared: a policy statement by the government of the member under
review, and a detailed report written independently by the WTO Secretariat. These two documents
are then discussed by the WTO’s full membership in the Trade Policy Review Body (TPRB). Thesedocuments and the proceedings of the TPRB’s meetings are publishe d shortly afterwards.
Print copies of the TPR publications are available for sale from the WTO Secretariat, Centre William
Rappard, 154 rue de Lausanne, 1211 Genève 21 and through the on-line bookshop at
https://secure.vtx.ch/shop/boutiques/wto_index_boutique.html  or follow this path :
www.wto.org >resources > publications > trade policy reviews
The TPR publications are also available from our co-publisher Bernan Press , 4611-F Assembly
Drive, Lanham, MD 20706-4391, United States
Next reviews:
Senegal/Niger  : 28, 30 July 2003
Honduras : 22, 24 September 2003
Bulgaria : 15, 17 October 2003
For a full list of previous trade policy reviews and the full programme of future reviews go to
http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tpr_e.htm#reviewsor follow this path : www.wto.org > trade topics > trade policy reviews
END