WTO rules against EU’s palm oil tariffs

Following the WTO’s ruling against the European Union’s tariffs on Indonesian palm oil, GAPKI chairman Eddy Martono issued the following statement.
He said: “GAPKI welcomes the WTO Dispute Panel's clear ruling against the European Union, which found that the European Union's countervailing duties on Indonesian biodiesel were simply wrong.
“Unfortunately, this latest ruling shows a clear pattern by the European Union in blocking access to the European market for Indonesian palm oil and palm products. It has consistently discriminated illegally against Indonesian palm oil for more than a decade.
“The WTO ruling showed that the EU completely mischaracterised Indonesia's support scheme for farmers and failed to prove any trade-distorting benefit to Indonesian biodiesel producers.
“It could not demonstrate any injury to European industry – only a threat of injury and it violated basic WTO transparency and due process obligations.
“GAPKI calls on the European Commission to quickly remedy the situation and re-open the EU market to Indonesian palm-based biofuels.
“GAPKI also calls on the EU to ensure that its future measures impacting palm oil – particularly the forthcoming EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) – do not discriminate against Indonesian palm oil. We also call on the Commission to ensure Indonesia’s 2.7 million palm oil smallholders are accommodated under the new regulations, whether through certification or clear exemption.
“The Indonesia-EU free trade agreement is likely to be signed soon, and the EU has promised zero tariffs for Indonesian palm oil, and special treatment for Indonesian products. We hope that the EU respects the spirit of that agreement and the future of bilateral relations between our countries.”
The WTO Dispute Panel made a clear ruling in DS618, which found that the European Union's countervailing duties on Indonesian biodiesel were wrong on multiple grounds.