Jakarta. Australia has lifted its anti-dumping measures on Indonesian A4 copy paper, giving Jakarta some hope that it could boost its exports to the close neighbor.

Australia previously imposed an additional duty on A4 copy paper imported from Indonesia. These anti-dumping measures, however, officially got revoked on May 5, 2023. Australia also lifted similar measures on paper products from Brazil and South Korea, among others.

“Australia has made the right decision by lifting the anti-dumping measures, considering how the Australian domestic industry is unable to produce paper that was subject to the measures,” Budi Santoso, a director-general at the Trade Ministry, was quoted as saying in a press statement on Friday. 

The ministry revealed that Indonesian businesses could file for a refund for the import duties that they had paid for exports taking place after May 5, 2023.

Natan Kambuno, a senior official at the ministry said: “Indonesia needs to seize this moment to boost its paper products because Indonesian products hold a great competitive power in the Australian market.”

Indonesia reported that Australia’s anti-dumping duty rate which ranged between 14.7 percent and 59.7 percent in recent years had taken a toll on its paper exports. In 2022, Indonesia exported $8 million worth of A4 paper to Australia, marking a huge drop from $18 million in 2019.

In 2017, Indonesia filed a WTO lawsuit against Australia over the anti-dumping measures on its A4 copy paper. The measures came into effect earlier that year following an investigation by the Australian Anti-Dumping Commission. Dumping generally occurs when goods exported to a country are sold at a lower price than the price charged in the country of manufacture. The WTO then found that the Australian Anti-Dumping Commission had incorrectly calculated the costs of producing paper in Indonesia.

Government data shows Indonesia-Australia trade amounted to $12.5 billion in 2023, down by 6.39 percent from $13.33 billion the previous year.