Indonesia regrets EU’s move to appeal on WTO biodiesel ruling

[JAKARTA] The Indonesian trade ministry on Thursday (Oct 2) urged the European Union to adopt the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) panel ruling to remove countervailing duties on Indonesian biodiesel imports and regretted the block’s move to appeal the WTO ruling.

The European Union said last week that it will appeal the WTO panel ruling, which backed Jakarta’s claim that the duties levied by the EU, the third-largest destination for Indonesian palm oil products, broke the trade body’s rules.

“The EU’s decision to file an appeal on the Dispute Panel DS618 decision is irrelevant,” Trade Minister Budi Santoso said in a statement, pointing out that the WTO Appellate Body ceased functioning in 2019.

“This EU move could be seen as an attempt to buy time,” he said.

The EU has imposed the duties, ranging from 8 to 18 per cent, since 2019, saying the South-east Asian nation’s biodiesel producers benefited from grants, tax benefits and access to raw materials below market prices.

The case joins a string of disputes over biodiesel tariffs and palm oil’s link to deforestation, even as the EU and Indonesia finalised negotiations on a free trade deal last month. REUTERS