Indonesia's Ministry of Trade recently received domestic demands for stricter control over foreign capital led steel investment projects and steel imports to protect the interests of the domestic industry.
The news came at an intergovernmental meeting earlier this week. WisnuWardhana, Minister of Foreign Trade, and Harjanto, Minister of Metal Industry attended the meeting.
Wardhana said his department has issued a ministerial regulation to regulate the import of steel and its derivatives. However, this provision still needs to be sent back to the Ministry of Industry for further consideration.
From January to October 2019, Indonesia's steel import increased by 2.7% year on year. Therefore, Indonesia proposes to set up a special working group to solve the problems faced by the domestic steel industry.
