medcom.id, Bekasi: The ASEAN free market is to apply within the next couple of months, as it witness the surge of imported products due to zero percent tariffs in ASEAN countries. One of the products to be imported is steel products.
"Steel and iron industries are the main suppliers for infrastructure projects, as they determine the developments of other projects. They should possess competitiveness, as they should be protected from imported steel products," said the Minister of Industry Saleh Husin in a written statement in Bekasi, Thursday evening (5/21/2015).
He explained that the government's efforts include increasing steel import tariffs as much as 15 percent for the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) category and the obligation to use SNI for steel products utilization.
According to Saleh, his party has confirmed local steel products usage in the procurements and projects funded by the State Budget (APBN) in cooperation with the Board of Supervisors of Finance and Development (BPKP). In practice, BPKP is to audit the usage of local products, as applied to ministerial institutions, departments and state-owned enterprises.
"We have also plead for reductions in gas and electricity base prices to support and boost the capacity and performance of national steel industry," he affirmed.
The ministry stated that iron and steel industry have become the basic raw materials for shipyards of oil and gas sector, heavy machinery industry, automotive and electronics.
"In infrastructure, the industry supplies the needs of road construction, airports, seaports, railway tracks and several other facilities," Saleh concluded. (EPS)
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