GENEVA: The United States has asked the World Trade Organization to let it impose sanctions on Indonesia after winning a trade dispute that it said cost US business up to $350 million in 2017, a US filing published by the WTO showed on Monday.
The United States and New Zealand both won WTO rulings last year against Indonesian import restrictions on food, plants and animal products, including apples, grapes, potatoes, onions, flowers, juice, dried fruit, cattle, chicken and beef.
Indonesia also lost an appeal.
The latest US filing said Indonesia had not complied with the ruling, so Washington was seeking annual sanctions to compensate for the damage done to US interests.
“Based on a preliminary analysis of available data for certain products, this level is provisionally estimated at up to approximately $350 million for 2017,” it said.
“The United States will update this figure annually, as Indonesia’s economy continues to expand.
Indonesia is still studying the US move to seek sanctions, said Oke Nurwan, trade ministry’s director general of foreign trade, adding that authorities believe Jakarta had complied with the WTO panel decision. He said rules on Indonesian food imports had already been revised.
The process of seeking compensation often take years, and Indonesia is likely to contest the size of any potential sanctions.
There was no immediate sign of a similar sanctions request from New Zealand, which said last year Indonesia’s restrictions were estimated to have cost New Zealand beef sector up to NZ$1 billion. ($673 million)
Indonesia has been lobbying senior US officials to keep the Southeast Asian nation on a list of countries that receive special trade terms under the Generalized System of Preferences, a facility that gives reduced tariffs to about $2 billion of Indonesian exports.
The US Trade Representative’s Office in April said it was reviewing Indonesia’s eligibility for GSP in light of Jakarta’s imposition of a wide array of trade and investment barriers that create serious negative effects on US commerce.
Indonesia’s trade minister Enggartiasto Lukita in July said he will advise Washington that Indonesia will remove trade barriers for US apples following a WTO ruling as part of lobbying for GSP.
Indonesia scrapped a quota system for beef imports in 2016.
US seeks $350 million annual sanctions in Indonesia trade dispute
US seeks $350 million annual sanctions in Indonesia trade dispute
- The latest US filing said Indonesia had not complied with the ruling
- The process of seeking compensation often take years, and Indonesia is likely to contest the size of any potential sanctions
Saudi stock market opens its doors to foreign investors
RIYADH: Foreigners will be able to invest directly in Saudi Arabia’s stock market from Feb. 1, the Kingdom’s Capital Market Authority has announced.
The CMA’s board has approved a regulatory change which will mean the capital market, across all its segments, will be accessible to investors from around the world for direct participation.
According to a statement, the approved amendments aim to expand and diversify the base of those permitted to invest in the Main Market, thereby supporting investment inflows and enhancing market liquidity.
International investors' ownership in the capital market exceeded SR590 billion ($157.32 billion) by the end of the third quarter of 2025, while international investments in the main market reached approximately SR519 billion during the same period — an annual rise of 4 percent.
“The approved amendments eliminated the concept of the Qualified Foreign Investor in the Main Market, thereby allowing all categories of foreign investors to access the market without the need to meet qualification requirements,” said the CMA, adding: “It also eliminated the regulatory framework governing swap agreements, which were used as an option to enable non-resident foreign investors to obtain economic benefits only from listed securities, and the allowance of direct investment in shares listed on the Main Market.”
In July, the CMA approved measures to simplify the procedures for opening and operating investment accounts for certain categories of investors. These included natural foreign investors residing in one of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, as well as those who had previously resided in the Kingdom or in any GCC country.
This step represented an interim phase leading up to the decision announced today, with the aim of increasing confidence among participants in the Main Market and supporting the local economy.
Saudi Arabia, which is more than halfway through an economic plan to reduce its dependence on oil, has been trying to attract foreign investors, including by establishing exchange-traded funds with Asian partners in Japan and Hong Kong.
