InfoSAWIT, JAKARTA – The Government of Indonesia re-proposed to establish the second evaluation panel on the dispute - DS618 in the regular Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) World Trade Organization (WTO), Monday (27/11). It means, the panel would automatically be established apart from if European Union would reject it.
Head of Trade Advocacy Bureau, Nugraheni Prasetya Hastuti said that the proposal has been the same with the commitment and what government should do to protect and struggle for palm oil biodiesel access to European Union. Palm oil is discriminated because getting subsidy that European Union authority could not accept but it is not justified by international law.
Prior on 11 August 2023, Indonesia officially proposed a consultation with European Union to WTO. Indonesia hoped that the panel would immediately be established and be in dispute trial in the first semester 2024.
As in the official statement to InfoSAWIT, Thursday (30/11/2023), the main claim from Indonesia covered fund assumption issue from Palm Oil Plantation Fund Management Agency (PFMA) which European Commission consider that the fund was the subsidy. European Commission assumed that the fund was the support from the Government of Indonesia to produce crude palm oil (CPO). European Commission unreasonably calculated the material loss threats and was not the same with the agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures/SCM Agreement).
On 6 December 2018, European Commission initiated to get anti-subsidy investigation on palm oil biodiesel from Indonesia. this was from the petition that European Biodiesel Board (EBB) proposed that was represented by law firm - Fidal on 19 October 2018.
European Union Commission did investigation on anti-subsidy to palm oil biodiesel imports from Indonesia by taking samples from five producer/exporter companies. European Union did investigation on the same issue in Argentina that started since on 31 January 2018.
The products covered fatty-acid mono-alkyl esters and/or paraffinic gas oils that was produced from the synthesis and/or hydro-treatment that derived from non-fossil which is famously known as biodiesel in pure substance or mixed, which derived from Indonesia. The compensation import duty would be about 8 – 18 percent since 29 November 2019. (T2)
