Indonesia urges EU to remove biodiesel import curbs after WTO ruling

25/8/2025 13:27

Indonesia urged the European Union on Monday to immediately scrap countervailing duties on imports of biodiesel, after the World Trade Organization backed several of its key claims in a complaint to the trade body.



The world's biggest palm oil exporter had contended in its 2023 complaint that the duties levied by the European Union, its third-largest destination for palm oil products, broke the trade body's rules.



"We urge the EU to immediately revoke these countervailing import duties that are not WTO-compliant," Trade Minister Budi Santoso said in a statement after the WTO's ruling last week.



The dispute is the latest squabble between the bloc and Indonesia, following rows over biodiesel tariffs and palm oil's link to deforestation, as they edge nearer to signing a free trade deal, after a political agreement struck in July.



The EU has imposed the duties, ranging from 8% to 18%, since 2019, saying the Southeast Asian nation's biodiesel producers benefit from grants, tax benefits and access to raw materials below market prices.