Bara Krishna Hasibuan, the Indonesian Ministry of Trade’s special envoy for international trade agreements, stated that the Ministry is prepared to deal with the consequences that will arise if the government decides to ban bauxite exports.
　　Barra explained that the potential consequence is that China might file a lawsuit against the World Trade Organization (WTO), given that China is the largest market for Indonesia’s bauxite exports.
　　In 2022, Indonesia lost a lawsuit brought by the European Union (EU) concerning the ban on exports of crude nickel. However, Indonesia will appeal this decision.
　　The government is taking the downstream processing of certain other commodities very seriously. Following the ban on nickel, it will continue to process mineral raw materials such as bauxite, copper, tin, and gold into finished goods.
　　According to President Joko Widodo, Indonesia has reaped numerous benefits since imposing a two-year ban on nickel ore exports. This will serve as a model for the government to promote similar policies for other mineral commodities as well.
　　Bauxite that has been processed and refined can be transformed into alumina, which is eight times more valuable. And when alumina is further refined into aluminum, its value increases to 30 times that of the original bauxite raw material.
　　We are prepared to face all the consequences arising from President Joko Widodo and the government’s policy of banning bauxite exports, which is aimed at accelerating Indonesia’s industrialization process.