Praktik Jual Beli Pakaian Bekas Impor Yang Dilarang Pemerintah Dan Implikasinya terhadap perlindungan Konsumen di Kota Bengkulu

Abstract

The practice of trading imported used clothing, prohibited by the government under Minister of Trade Regulation Number 47 of 2025 concerning Goods Prohibited for Import, remains widespread in Bengkulu City. This study aims to understand the practices surrounding the trade of imported used clothing, analyze the implications for consumer rights, and examine the role of the Bengkulu City Trade and Industry Agency in enforcing the ban. This research employs an empirical legal (socio-legal) research method with a sociological approach, analyzed descriptively and qualitatively based on primary data obtained through interviews with traders, consumers, and trade office officials, as well as secondary data consisting of statutory regulations and legal literature. The results show that the trade in imported used clothing at Pasar Panorama continues openly through a closed-bale purchasing system that creates an information asymmetry between traders and consumers. This practice gives rise to serious implications for consumer protection, including threats to consumer safety and health, violations of the right to accurate information, the invalidity of sale-purchase agreements due to their prohibited object, and the minimal realization of consumers' right to compensation. The Bengkulu City Trade and Industry Office normatively possesses the authority to enforce the prohibition, yet enforcement has not been effective due to limited resources, weak inter-agency coordination, and minimal supervisory activity. This phenomenon reflects the gap between law in the books and law in action as articulated by Roscoe Pound.