Ensuring I-EAEU FTA’s effective implementation a challenge: Indonesia

As Indonesia prepares to welcome the signing of the Indonesia-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement (I-EAEU FTA), the country’s Trade Minister Budi Santoso recently said the true challenge is to ensure its effective implementation apart from finalising it.

The agreement is scheduled to be signed during the EAEU Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 20-21, an EAEU release said.

As Indonesia prepares to welcome the signing of the Indonesia-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement, Trade Minister Budi Santoso has said the true challenge is to ensure its effective implementation.
The pact is expected to be signed at the EAEU Summit in St. Petersburg on December 20-21.
Implementation is targeted by late 2026 or early 2027.
The FTA’s initial phase will focus on goods trade.

At the Strategic Forum on International Trade: Indonesia-EAEU FTA in Jakarta, Santoso stressed that without readiness from businesses and strong partnerships, the FTA risks becoming a mere document rather than a driver of trade.

To address this, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade is encouraging the creation of communication platforms and business partnerships between Indonesia and EAEU member states.

Indonesian exports to the bloc reached $1.9 billion in 2024, with total trade valued at $4.5 billion. Over the past five years, bilateral trade has grown at an average annual rate of 21.45 per cent.

The FTA could potentially double total trade, opening access to a vast market of nearly 200 million people, Santoso noted.

The initial phase of the FTA will focus on goods trade, while services, investment and broader cooperation may be included later.

Each EAEU member state is expected to ratify the FTA following the signing. Implementation is targeted by late 2026 or early 2027.

“Over the past three years, the landscape of our foreign trade has been completely renovated. If the EU’s [European Union’s] share of our trade turnover previously exceeded 50 per cent, it now stands at 18 per cent, while the share of BRICS+ countries has increased from 30 per cent to almost 70 per cent,” Andrey Slepnev, Minister in charge of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), told a recent press conference.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)