Mr. Dedi Firdaus’ experience lies in the areas of customs, international trade and investment in Southeast Asia (ASEAN member countries). He assists clients on various issues relating to investment and trade incentives and programs within the ASEAN region, such as the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (“CEPT”) Scheme and the ASEAN Industrial Cooperation (“AICO”) Scheme. He is actively involved in preparing up-to-date reports on the current policy developments on trade and customs issues relating to the automotive, electronic, tobacco and food sectors.

Select Representations

• Provided timely intelligence on and analysis of developments in the areas of investment, trade, customs and FTAs in ASEAN and Indonesia, specifically relevant to the automotive, tobacco, electronics and machinery industries.

• Prepared a study on the investment (foreign investment restrictions, incentives, direct tax, double tax treaties, transfer pricing, Advance Pricing Agreement, etc.), customs (import procedures, import duties, excise tax, drawback, valuation, etc.), and other regulatory conditions (health and safety requirements, consumption/sale restrictions, advertising restrictions, etc.) in Indonesia for a major European liquor manufacturer.

• Represented a British tobacco company in minimizing its customs and excise duty exposure into Thailand with the use of WTO customs valuation methodologies.

• Researched tariff classification of more than 10 products for a Japanese consumer electronics company for its exports into ASEAN, South Korea and Taiwan.

• Assisted clients in applying for Customs Bonded Warehouse and exemption duty facilities in Indonesia.

FTA Advisory

• Participated in creating a database of preferential tariffs under FTAs involving certain countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Advised an automotive exporter on exporting to Indonesia under the CEPT Scheme and applying for CEPT Form D.

ASEAN Work

• Formerly an official of the ASEAN Secretariat and the focal point of Trade and CEPT issues with the ASEAN Secretariat, monitored the implementation of the CEPT Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (“AFTA”) and the ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature. 

• Worked on standards and quality issues in ASEAN with the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Standards and Quality (“ACCSQ”) as well as on customs issues with the Expert Committee on Customs Matters (“ECCM”).

• Deputy Chairman of Public Policy Committee, Chamber of Commerce an Industry (“KADIN”)

• BA Statistics, Bogor Agriculture Institute .

• English, Bahasa Indonesia.