Indonesia Set to File Lawsuit against EU for Policy Inimical to Palm Oil

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Joko Widodo administration is planning to proceed in filing a lawsuit against the European Union over a policy against Indonesian palm oil.

As one of the world’s leading palm oil producers, the government has found the bloc’s Renewable Energy Directives II (RED II) as discriminatory towards Indonesia’s palm oil industry, and thus it is looking to take it up with the World Trade Organization in 2021.

Donny Tamtama, Head of the Agro Products Sub-directorate, Directorate of Trade Defense at Indonesia’s Ministry of Trade, said that the ministry is actively preparing the lawsuit together with key stakeholders and a legal team.

Read also: Indonesia Demands Equal Treatment from EU Over Palm Oil

The aim is for the lawsuit to be submitted to the WTO by next year.

“There will be a hearing, a trial, document submission for the second trial, a second trial, then finally the final report will likely be completed in early 2022.”

Moreover, the government has intensified research on Indonesia’s palm oil in a bid to defend the global commodity from an academic perspective.

Donny said that the move is to prevent similar forms of discriminatory policies by the EU in the future.

Read also: Indonesia Imposes Biodiesel Program to Fight Smear Campaign Against Palm Oil in EU

“If the European Union loses, they will still continue to develop their argument, thus it is important that on our side, we prepare substantial arguments and scientific evidence.”

He added that the EU is a key market for Indonesian palm oil. Statistically, 12 percent of Indonesia’s palm oil exports are shipped out to the European Union.

Between January-October 2020, the number has been in steady decline.

Read also: Indonesia’s Palm Oil Industry Shows Signs of Recovery

In terms of average trade, Indonesia’s exports to the European bloc dropped by 2.41 percent while the average export volume also decreased 0.56 percent.

“What we see here is that the EU is a relatively crucial export market for our country which is why we have to maintain the market for Indonesian palm oil there.”

(Writer: Rully R. Ramli | Editor: Ambaranie Nadia Kemala Movanita)

Source: https://money.kompas.com/read/2020/12/18/061531326/diskriminasi-kelapa-sawit-pemerintah-gugat-uni-eropa-ke-wto-awal-2021