THE IMPORTANCE OF JOINING THE TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP FOR THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA

ABSTRACT

The controversy over President Joko Widodo's statement of intention that Indonesia
wants to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is yet to calm down. The TPP is
actually a comprehensive trade and investment agreement that would remove most
tariffs, some tariff-rate guotas (TROs), and many non-tariff barriers to goods and
services trade and investment between the parties to the agreement. For Indonesia,
TPP represents an opportunity to participate in one of the most important trade
agreements globally and certainly the most important trade agreement in the Asia-
Pacific region in terms of size and impact. Furthermore, TPP will become one of the
largest commercial areas in the world with over 800 million people, contributing over
40Y4 of the world Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Although the Treaty has not been
signed yet, the discourse on the possibility of Indonesia joining the TPP has caught
both media and public attention. The decision to join the TPP should be built upon a
very deep consideration, with particular scrutiny on the political, economic and legal
aspects. These three aspects are critical to the decision to accede to the Treaty. By
using a descriptive-gualitative method, the study will describe the importance of
joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership for the Republic of Indonesia. Moreover, the
result shows that the TPP definitely covers all of the topics included in most modern
FTAs. In addition, the TPP also goes beyond these traditional areas, providing
disciplines to new areas such as anti-corruption, electronic commerce, and cyber
security. However, there are challenges that might be faced such as, organizational
challenges, public policy, economic development, overlapping agreement, and next
generation of the TPP challenges. Yet, it seems to be covered by the opportunities
embodied in the TPP, and it is surely reflected as the importance of joining the
Agreement.

Keywords: Trans Pacific-Partnership, Free Trade Agreement, Republic of
Indonesia, Challenges and Opportunities