- After a protracted period of scientific research and deliberation with stakeholders operating within the national palm-oil industry, the Indonesian Government has finally decided to file a lawsuit with the World Trade Organization. The subject of the lawsuit is the European Union (“EU”), in particular, its Renewable Energy Directive II (“RED II”) and Delegated Regulation which, the government is alleging, effectively discriminate against Indonesian palm-oil exports. The lawsuit demonstrates that the government has now committed itself to fight perceived EU discrimination.
- In essence, RED II requires all EU countries to exclusively use renewable-energy-based fuels during the 2020 - 2030 period. The Delegated Regulation, as an implementing regulation to RED II, categorizes palm oil as a commodity which is associated with a high risk of indirect land-use change. As a result, palm-oil-based biofuels have now been excluded from the list of permitted sources of renewable energy. RED II and the Delegated Regulation thus limit market access for palm oil, as well as palm-oil-based biofuels, in turn placing Indonesian palm-oil product exports to the EU market at significant risk.
- While affirming his understanding of the reasons for the government’s decision to pursue legal action via the WTO, Irfan Bakhtiar of the Biodiversity Foundation has also stated his belief that the government should have implemented a number of measures prior to the filing of its lawsuit. Said measures include the improvement of the current national palm-oil governance regime, as Indonesia remains plagued by many unresolved issues in this area.
- For more on this story, see: “Indonesia Gugat Uni Eropa Soal Diskriminasi Kelapa Sawit di WTO”.
......
Subscribe to read more legal analysis.
Hukumonline Pro Intelligence
Platform AI hukum terpercaya sebagai solusi komprehensif riset Anda
*Syarat dan ketentuan berlaku
Ada Pertanyaan? Hubungi Kami 
Professional Solutions
University Solutions
Pro
My Workspace
Pro AI
Terfavorit
Allex QnA
Pro Compliance
