Indonesia's Notified Decree 32: The Names Have Changed but

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000531 DU/S PSHEIK FAS/OA SHALE, FAS/OCRA/BPETLOCK, HIGGISTON, RADLER FAS/OSTA/TWESCOT, ATALLEY, EALEXANDER, PTABOR, SSHNITZLER FAS/OFSO/WAINIO USTR/KEHLERS GENEVA FOR MIN COUNSELOR DMILLER BANGKOK FOR APHIS/RTANAKA CANBERRA FOR AG COUNSELOR GPETTRIE WELLINGTON FOR AG ATTACHE SCANDURRA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ETRD ID SUBJECT: Indonesia's Notified Decree 32: The Names Have Changed but Much Remains the Same Reftel: 2008 JAKARTA 002286 ¶1. The Minister of Agriculture replaced two Quarantine Agency officials, the Agency Head and the Director of the Center for Information and Biosafety within Quarantine. The positions are key decision makers for notified Decree 32, which regulates imports of fresh foods of plant origin. The Ministry is preparing to move forward on the decree despite the personnel changes. Yet despite assurances by these two officials, it remains unclear whether the decree will impact trade until it is signed and the United States food safety system is officially "recognized". End Summary. The Names Have Changed... -------------- ¶2. Recently, the Minister of Agriculture changed two key decision makers for notified Decree 32. The decree places additional requirements for imported U.S. fresh foods of plant origin and will be implemented by the Center for Information and Biosafety within the Quarantine Agency. Quarantine is the agency within the Ministry of Agriculture that mitigates the risk of plant pests and animal diseases entering Indonesia. Hari Priyono became the Head of the Indonesian Quarantine Board on December 19, 2008 and Catur became the Director of the Center for Information and Biosafety on February 11, 2009. The Minister reportedly made the changes because he wanted improved coordination between Quarantine and other directorates in the Ministry of Agriculture. Neither is as technically qualified as his predecessor and both state that the decree should not impact trade of U.S. fresh products of plant origin. The Minister tasked Catur with gaining consensus for the decree from other areas of the Ministry before he would sign it. Catur listens to concerns and suggestions even conducting a joint meeting with importers and FAS to learn more about the import process. Typically, officials in the Ministry do not engage the private sector about new decrees until after the decree is finalized. ...But Much Remains the Same -------------- ¶3. Requirements in the notified decree continue to cause concern. Prior notification is still required in the latest draft, but officials changed the time required from at least 3 days in advance to up to 2 days before the shipment arrives. The notification must include the name and address of the owner, which could be importer or exporter; information about the shipment and the product; and the source of production. The competent authority in a "recognized" country will need to provide a database listing sources of production, which officials will check against import documents. At this time, Quarantine officials are considering whether information contained on phytosanitary certificates or from the industry are acceptable alternatives. According to the U.S. industry, the requirements in the notification should not pose a problem for exporters of fruits from the northwestern United States. However, FDA reports that it cannot provide a database of producers. ¶4. Important requirements and terms remain vague. Quarantine officials have not yet defined some of the terms in the decree, such as whether "source of production" is the state or county, packinghouse, or farmer. Neither have officials determined whether the notification should occur by fax, e-mail, or other means. It remains unclear if Quarantine officials will need to do on-site inspections before "recognizing" the U.S. food safety system. Officials have not discussed visiting the United States and reports are that it has not been discussed internally either. However, Indonesian officials discussed a visit to Australia with diplomats from that trading partner. Status of the Notified Decree -------------- ¶5. Despite the changes in leadership, the Minister is pushing for implementation before October. The Minister sees the decree as benefiting Indonesian farmers and wants to see it implemented before he leaves when the newly elected administration enters office. If the Minister does not sign the decree in the next few weeks, then the time between signing and implementation could be shorter than the 6 months notified to the WTO. This also calls into question whether officials will have time to review the submission on the U.S. food safety system and those from other trading partners before implementing the decree. If the process is not completed, it could mean that U.S. exporters must meet the more onerous provisions of the decree, such as food safety certification. The review process will not start until after the Minster signs the decree and the USG fills out a form Quarantine officials still need to draft. ¶6. Quarantine officials are no longer willing to accept official comments on the decree nor are they willing to meet officially with USG until they have consensus within the Ministry on the decree. The latest draft of the decree will not be notified to the WTO because Quarantine officials do not consider the changes to be significant. Officials within Quarantine have met informally to ask questions from USG officials and the Indonesian trade association. However, it is unclear how seriously suggestions are being considered. Hume