iPhone 16 on Thin Ice
The Minister of Industry, Agus Gumiwang Kartasamita, recently announced that the iPhone 16 will not be sold in the country unless certain conditions are met. He stated, The renewal of the TKDN certification is still pending, awaiting Apple’s new investment completion
. This TKDN certification relates to the use of national components in goods and services.
It appears that the certification has expired and the renewal process is underway. However, this process entails conducting a number of activities within the country, such as local manufacturing or developing applications domestically. Cupertino has faced similar conditions before when it sought to establish itself in India.
To date, Apple has invested 1.48 trillion rupiah ($94.53 million), instead of the planned 1.71 trillion rupiah ($109.6 million). Additionally, it has only established three Apple Academies in the country (schools for development and coding). Last April, during his trip to Asia, Tim Cook mentioned that a fourth entity would soon open in Bali.
The sales ban could compel residents to purchase the model abroad, thus incurring import fees of about $155 for an iPhone 16.
Temu Suspended?
On the Temu front, the issue is somewhat unique. Indonesia has asked Google and Apple to block the Chinese fashion e-commerce app. This blockade must be implemented in both app stores, preventing it from being downloaded.
According to the Minister of Communications Budi Arie Setiadie, the goal here is to proactively protect the country’s small and medium-sized enterprises from the inexpensive products offered by Temu. He emphasized one point: Temu’s business model constitutes unfair competition …/… We are not here to protect e-commerce, but we are protecting small and medium-sized businesses. There are millions of people we need to protect
.
Indeed, the system enables direct consumer connections to factories in China, significantly reducing prices, which severely disadvantages local businesses. The Indonesian minister has also leveled similar criticisms at another e-commerce giant, Shein.