The Indonesian Textile Association (API) Bali asked for a reduction in bank interest rates in order to increase competitiveness, in order to deal with the buying and selling of used clothes, aka thrifting. "The import of used clothes disrupts the local market," said API Bali Chair Dolly Suthajaya, in Denpasar, Monday (20/3), reported by Antara. He expects the bank's interest rate for the textile industry to be reduced to 6%, from the current rate which is still considered high in the range of 11-12%. The bank interest rate, he said again, is one of the parts that make up the Cost of Production (HPP), apart from the component costs of raw materials, labor and other operations such as electricity and transportation.

Meanwhile, the textile industry is a labor-intensive industry that empowers a large number of workers, is export-oriented and encourages creativity.

"There are fears that it will stop the creation and production of full used clothes on the market, as well as kill the creative industry in Bali," he also said.

In Bali, there are 60 textile business actors who are members of the association, and some of them are small-scale.

On the other hand, he said, textile entrepreneurs also carry out their obligations to pay taxes, including paying import duties for textile supporting raw materials at high tariffs, which are around 32% of the total value of goods. Not to mention other costs such as renting a warehouse to the obligation to quarantine.

Meanwhile, the import of used clothes, as the name implies, has no value anymore and does not provide any income to the state, especially in relation to taxes and customs when they are brought into Indonesia.

"The stealth economy is not clear about the import tax, it must be eradicated or subject to high taxes so that all contribute taxes," he said.

In fact, a number of countries do not accept imports of used clothing because it is related to environmental health. Therefore, actors engaged in the used clothing sector, in fact, reap profits even though they sell at low prices or far below the HPP.

On the other hand, the issue of competitiveness also means that some textile products in the country have not yet dominated a number of shopping centers, because they have to compete with products from Vietnam, China and Bangladesh.

"Hopefully later we will succeed in eradicating the import of used clothes, so that the textile and textile product industry in Bali will rise again and be enthusiastic about being creative again," he said again.

The government prohibits the export of used clothing which is regulated in the Minister of Trade Regulation Number 18 of 2021 concerning goods prohibited from export and import. Previously, the government had also issued Regulation of the Minister of Trade No 51/M-DAG/PER/7/2015 concerning the ban on the import of used clothing.