WTO finds fault in EU move against palm oil biofuel: Malaysia

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – The EU’s move against Malaysian palm oil biofuel​​​​​​​ is “indeed discriminatory,” the World Trade Organization (WTO) has found, according to Kuala Lumpur.

Abdul Ghani, Malaysian minister of plantation and commodities, Tuesday called the WTO ruling a “vindication” of Kuala Lumpur’s “pursuit of justice” for our biodiesel traders, companies, and employees.

The WTO report, released on Monday, “clearly finds fault with the EU’s rules on indirect land use change to ban palm oil biofuels," the minister said.

“It also finds fault with the EU’s approach to notifying and consulting with other economies when introducing new trade measures,” Ghani added.

The EU Commission’s “delegated act” against Malaysian palm oil establishes criteria to determine which food and feed-crop-based biofuels have a “high risk” of increasing greenhouse gas emissions due to the changes in the use of land – such as deforestation.

Ghani said the EU has “agreed” to comply with the WTO ruling before it can impose restrictions in accepting Malaysia’s palm oil biofuels.

Malaysia will “closely monitor the EU’s changes to its regulations to bring it in line with the WTO’s findings,” he also said.