President Joko Widodo said on Wednesday that Indonesia could lose a trade dispute with the European Union (EU) over the Southeast Asian nation's 2020 ban on nickel ore exports.
But the president told a forum of economists in Jakarta that Indonesia would go ahead with plans to impose similar bans on exports of other raw materials regardless of the World Trade Organisation's decision in the dispute.
Indonesia was the world's largest nickel exporter before banning ore exports two years ago to attract foreign investors to develop nickel smelters and downstream industries onshore, with China a key source of investment.
As the 2020 ban loomed, the EU complained to the WTO that the restrictions unfairly limited its stainless steel producers' access to nickel and other commodities.
"It looks like we are going to lose at the WTO, but it doesn't matter, the industry has been established," President Jokowi, as he is known, said.
Jokowi said the ban had increased Indonesia's export earnings, noting that the country's nickel ore exports were worth about $1 billion seven years ago, compared with $20.9 billion for nickel-based products in 2021.
The WTO set up a panel to monitor the EU-Indonesia dispute in April 2021 and is expected to issue its final report in the last quarter of 2022, according to the Geneva-based organisation's website. The panel usually determines whether the complainant's claim is well-founded and, if so, recommends changes.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
Jokowi reiterated that Indonesia would stop exporting raw copper, bauxite and tin to encourage foreign investment and help the country move up the resource processing value chain. He did not provide a time frame for adopting such a policy.
"If we are consistent [with the export policy], I am sure our GDP will exceed $3 trillion by 2030," he said.
Indonesia's gross domestic product in 2021 was $1.19 trillion.
