Indonesia ready to face Japan's plan to file complain to WTO

The Indonesian government is ready to face the Japanese plan to file a complaint to WTO on the Indonesia's policy to bar export of raw mining products, including nickel ores, a minister said here on Thursday. Indonesian Industry Minister MS Hidayat stressed that the government will not comply with the request of Japan for continuation of shipment of nickel ores from Indonesia to Japan, and offered Japan to relocate their factories processing or smelting mineral ores to Indonesia. "They (Japan) have indicated to bring the procedures for the settlement to WTO forum. Indonesia officially states that it is pleased," he said at the State Palace. According to the minister, Japan wants the sustainability the supply of nickel ores from Indonesia as its factories have been supplied with typical nickel ores from Indonesia for about 15 years. "We will not meet their request. We keep sticking on our law," he said. For solution, Minister Hidayat said that the government offered relocation of Japan's factories to Indonesia. The government slapped a broad export ban on mineral ores on January 12 as a mandatory of the country's law number 4, 2009 in a bid to extract more revenues and ramp up downstream sector. Under the policy the government bars export of mineral ores of nickel, bauxite, tin, chromium, gold and silver as they don't have intermediate products. Hidayat said that the Japanese side would meet with him and scores of Indonesian ministers next week for discussion as a precondition for filing the challenge to the WTO.