In the arena surrounding the free trade agreement with Indonesia, the left is arguing

Analysis

The “sand” of palm oil is when SP-Molina moves to the middle and annoys Juso-Jansen

The fronts of the free trade agreement with Indonesia are unclear. Although the left basically wants the same thing, the Social Democrats and their Young Party are getting their hair in the “voting arena.”

March 7 promises to be a hot voting Sunday. Opinions within the left are not only divided on the veil ban, the SP, Juso, the Greens and various environmental organizations also disagree on the free trade agreement with Indonesia. In the “voting arena” on Friday night, the dispute became evident just under half an hour, when Juso president Ronja Jansen had a long exchange of blows with her predecessor and current SP national adviser, Fabian Molina. But more on that later.

The guest list already indicated that it would be an interesting show. Joining Molina for the free trade agreement were: Federal President Senior Vice President Guy Parmelin, Green Liberals National Advisor Tiana Angelina Moser and Monika Rühl, Director of Economiesuisse. On the opposite side were Jansen, Green National Councilor Balthasar Glättli, Rudi Berli, deputy director of the Uniterre union, and Irena Wettstein, co-director of the Paneco Foundation. What an impious alliance with Molina had been produced. By Friday night it was still unclear whether his party would take the same line as him. The SP has announced the version of the slogan for Saturday.

The fact that there is even a vote on it is because the “farmers union” Uniterre had called the referendum against the agreement. This was already signed in December 2018 by the Efta countries (Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and Indonesia. That means: The free trade agreement with Indonesia is already a done deal one way or another. The only question is: will Switzerland be part of it?

Federal President Parmelin hopes so. It is a first step in the right direction. The sustainability clause contained in the agreement is an important sign for the future.

Proponents stress that if they say yes, Switzerland would enter into a business relationship for the first time that would be linked to specific sustainability criteria. For Switzerland, the agreement meant that most of its export products could be shipped duty-free to Indonesia. On the other hand, Indonesia could also import its important export, palm oil, to Switzerland with lower tariffs, provided that sustainability requirements are met. And this clause is unique worldwide, “groundbreaking”, as highlighted by Tiana Moser in the group.

But what does “sustainable” mean here? According to Seco, Indonesia commits in the agreement to “stop deforestation, drainage of peatlands and slash and burn, and respect the rights of indigenous peoples and workers.” These criteria are set out in particular on the RSPO certification label.

But with RSPO certification, something is labeled sustainable that is anything but sustainable, says Irena Wettstein of the environmental organization Paneco. She travels to Indonesia for work two or three times a year and is in close contact with the workers and civil society there. She acknowledges the good intentions behind the sustainability criteria that are attached to the agreement. But it actually looks very different. “For us, this is an abuse of the word ‘sustainability’.”

What started the dispute between the left. The Social Democrat Fabián Molina supports the agreement because it triggers the improvement of palm oil production regulations. «That human rights are respected, that the protection of the environment be made effective. That there are controls. And that there are sanctions. “That drives sustainable development in Indonesia. This approach to trade agreements has been debated for 30 years and this is the first time it has materialized.” I’ve been fighting for 15 years to make the world a better place. Also we have to take concrete steps when we have won something. ”

Juso’s president, Jansen, stands four meters from Molina. It’s fine to refer to sustainability criteria, but the problem is that they don’t work. The palm oil companies would make common cause with the RSPO certifier and, as it were, check themselves. “That is an absolute joke. It’s like abolishing speed controls on freeways and asking drivers to inform themselves. ”

Now Molina has caught fire. The RSPO label, of course, is not good enough, there are still big problems. But it’s still an improvement. “No, not at all,” Jansen replies. The demand for palm oil is boosted by this agreement and that is not sustainable development.

Green Balthasar Glättli also opposes Molina’s euphoric endorsement of the deal. We have to see what happened in Indonesia in the course of the free trade agreement with the Efta states. Since then, the government has passed laws that damage the climate and violate labor rights in order to attract foreign investors to the country. “The agreement did not lead to a positive development in Indonesia. Otherwise. Do we want to do business with a country like that? “Glättli asks rhetorically.

Wettstein goes back to voting for Molina that the deal is at least a small step in the right direction. “Not exactly,” she says. Environmental organizations in Switzerland and affected population groups in Indonesia would reject the deal because it would make it worse.

For Molina, that is precisely the heart of the debate. Wettstein is of the opinion that Indonesia is not a country with which such an agreement can currently be concluded because sustainability criteria are not applied locally. But Molina thinks so. Unlike other countries like China or Turkey, where it is strongly opposed to a trade deal. On the contrary, in Indonesia he sees slow development, where there are currently setbacks, “but when we look at the development of democracy, we see positive approaches.”

In the end, the question remains: who is he now? Both opponents and supporters defend basically the same thing: sustainability, human rights, protection of workers. It is not clear if the free trade agreement with Indonesia promotes these concerns or, conversely, if it is detrimental to the local population and the environment. The people will decide at the polls on March 7. He will then show whether Fabián Molina’s balancing act up the ranks of Economiesuisse and Senior Vice President has paid off, or if he pinches his neck when he dislocates.