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| Indonesia preparing test laboratory |
The Industry Ministry is preparing a test laboratory in Bandung, West Java, in the face of non-tariff and technical barriers on electronic goods under the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) scheme effective January 1, 2011.
"By the end of this year the B4T (Center for Research and Development of Materials and Technical Products) will be able to test all electronic goods particularly those required to bear SNI (Indonesian National Standard) labels," Chief of the Industrial Research and Development Center (BPPI) Dedi Mulyadi said in a discussion here on Sunday.
The preparedness of government-owned test laboratory was very important to face free competition, which is free from tariff and technical barriers, he said.
Hence, the ministry had equipped the B4T with sophisticated test instruments to be able to check whether or not electronic goods from other ASEAN member states matched the existing standards, he said.
"We have just equipped the B4T laboratory with sophisticated technology from Japan and the US. It is not inferior to that of Malaysia or Thailand. I can guarantee that," he said.
Under the AFTA, electronic goods are among the 11 priority sectors to be liberalized. To that end, all ASEAN member countries have agreed on ASEAN Harmonized Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulatory Regime (AHEEERR) effective January 1 next year.
In the AHEEERR, they also have agreed on harmonized standards, technical regulations, and conformity assessment, including listed conformity assessment bodies.
"The results of our tests have been recognized by KAN (the National Accreditation Committee) which has been popular in ASEAN," Chief of the B4T`s Standardization Division Budi Sasanto said.
So far, the B4T had successfully conducted laboratory tests on electronic household utensils such as water pumps, irons and televisions.
"By the end of this year we will be able to conduct laboratory tests on washing machines, refrigerators, and air conditioners," he said.
Dedy Mulyadi said the B4T had so far focused its laboratory tests on electronic goods required to bear SNI labels, namely seven electronic household utensils, including electric fans, electric irons, audio videos and televisions.
