Prema-chandra Athukorala had two main comments. The first is on the issue of foreign direct investment (FDI) diversification from China to Indonesia. He gave an example of Foxconn's 2012 plans to shift production to Indonesia. In 2015, however, it was reported that Foxconn cancelled plans to enter Indonesia over land issues. Athukorala thus thinks that the lack of reforms on FDI will affect Indonesia from benefitting from possible investment relocation. On the second issue, Athukorala's comments pertain to Indonesia's apparent shift toward free trade agreements (FTAs). He thinks that these FTAs have limited impact, based on existing empirical evidence, because of the costs of compliance and complicated rules of origin. (Incidentally, Fukunari Kimura refuted the insignificant use of FTAs in his session, when Athukorala again raised the same issue.) Therefore, Athukorala suggests that Indonesia should focus on unilateral liberalization.
Deborah Swenson raised the issue of World Trade Organization (WTO) reforms...