JAKARTA: The recently signed trade deal between Indonesia and the United States has drawn criticism from lawmakers and Islamic leaders, who have warned that exemptions for certain US products and the recognition of foreign halal certification agencies could weaken national halal standards.
President Prabowo Subianto and his US counterpart Donald Trump signed the US-Indonesia Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) on Thursday (Feb 19) in Washington, after long negotiations to revise tariffs and nontariff measures to boost bilateral trade.
The finalised agreement allows American products that meet applicable US or international standards to enter Indonesia without duplication of conformity assessments, and includes provisions that some critics view as potentially encroaching on the country’s halal standards.
Key provisions under scrutiny include exemptions for US-made cosmetics and medical equipment from Indonesia’s halal certification and labeling requirements.
The deal also exempts containers and other materials used to transport food and agricultural products from halal certification, bars Indonesia from requiring US companies to appoint a halal subject matter experts, and allows certain US halal certifiers to certify products without additional domestic review. Read also: RI upends domestic policies to get 19% tariffs in US trade deal
Critics warn these provisions could undermine domestic oversight, and the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has said the agreement risks weakening the halal system established under the 2014 Halal Product Assurance Law.
“Is this an agreement or a form of colonization? […] Halal certification is being sidelined,” MUI deputy chair Muhammad Cholil Nafis wrote on X on Saturday.
He also urged the government to review the problematic provisions and called on the country’s Muslim community to avoid uncertified US products.
Further, MUI Fatwa Commission head Asrorun Ni’am Sholeh said halal certification for products entering or distributed in Indonesia was “nonnegotiable”, emphasising that simplified administrative procedures should not compromise fundamental domestic standards.
“Our law regulates halal product assurance. It clearly states that every product entering, circulating or sold in Indonesia must have halal certification,” Ni’am said on Sunday, in a statement on the MUI website.
Similar concerns were raised at the House of Representatives, where deputy chair Singgih Januratmoko of Commission VIII, which oversees religious affairs, warned that easing halal certification requirements could undermine the halal assurance system.
“Automatic recognition of certification from external parties without testing or assessment equivalent to national standards could create legal uncertainty for Muslim consumers,” he said on Saturday.
The government has rejected claims that US exports could bypass domestic halal rules entirely, however.
Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya said all relevant products must bear a halal label, whether issued by US certifiers or the Halal Certification Agency (BPJPH).
“Some people say that US products can enter Indonesia without halal certification. In short, that is not true,” Teddy said in a written statement on Sunday.
The government also assured that all products requiring halal certification must comply with all existing national laws and regulations, he added.
In addition, cosmetics and medical equipment must still obtain distribution permits from the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), Teddy said, noting that Indonesia’s regulatory framework accommodated mutual recognition of foreign halal certification.
Mandatory halal certification continues to apply to food and beverage products, while US containers and transport materials must comply with general safety and labelling rules.
The day after the US-Indonesia ART was signed on Feb 19, the US Supreme Court ruled that Trump’s sweeping tariff policies exceeded his executive authority, leaving the implementation of the bilateral trade deal in a state of uncertainty.
Addressing the unexpected ruling, President Prabowo said on Saturday that his administration would “monitor developments” and was “prepared to face every possibility” related to the ART’s entry into force. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
