The Ministry of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) of Indonesia convened an emergency meeting with the heads of the Indonesian Electrician Association and mainstream platforms such as Shopee, Lazada and Tokopedia. At the meeting, MSMES reaffirmed its commitment to curbing the illegal import of second-hand clothing sales from electric power platforms, while ensuring that domestic vendors could operate on a sustainable basis.
Minister Maman Abdurrahman of MSMES stated in Jakarta on Friday: “The influx of illegally imported used clothing has damaged the domestic market. We want to protect local producers and ensure that electric power platforms cut off channels for illegal sales.” Maman Abdurrahman stressed that the ban applied only to used clothing imported illegally. Second-hand items originating in Indonesia are still allowed to be sold, and the Government is preparing assistance measures to help traders move from sales of imported second-hand clothing to local products, including providing easier access to financing and efforts to reduce production costs in order to maintain affordability. MSMES Deputy Minister Teme Satia Permana indicated that electrical power stations such as Shopee, Lazada and Tokopedia had agreed to comply with Minister of Trade Regulation No. 31/2023, which prohibited trade in restricted goods, including the import of second-hand clothing.
After an emergency meeting with the representative of the Electrician Platform, Permana stressed: “The Platform must take action against vendors who continue to provide illicit commodities. Enforcement will be gradual and proportionate so as not to compromise compliance vendors.” He reiterated that the restriction was not a mass closure and that used goods purchased locally and used personal clothing remained available for sale. As a solution, MSMEs will help traders connect to hundreds of local garment brands so that they can become distributors, official agents and even develop their own brands. “We will not lose the income of MSMEs. We are preparing a programme of cooperation between local brands, electric power platforms and businesses to enable them to continue to sell legitimate products, “Permana Supplement. He also mentioned that second-hand clothing traders in the Seneon market had expressed their willingness to switch to domestically produced products with the support of local governments in order to ensure a sustainable business transformation.
Indonesia Electrician Platform has made a similar commitment, and Shopee Indonesia’s Vice-President of Public Policy, Radinal Natapuraila, has stated that the Platform is in the process of hand-checking the seller of illegally imported clothing: “The vetting process is conducted manually, not by algorithms, to ensure fairness.” Tokopedia and TikTok Shop by Tokopedia, public policy director, Richard Angolo, have indicated that Tokopedia and TikTokopedia will comply with the Government’s ban. The Vice-President of the Indonesian Government, Jovan Sodalma, also confirmed his full support for the national policy. Hilmi Adrianto, President of the Indonesian Electronic Commerce Association (IDEA), said that the policy was crucial to strengthening a healthy online trading ecosystem and supporting local professional development in Indonesia.