PETALING JAYA: Plantation and commodities minister Johari Ghani has lauded a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling issued yesterday that the European Union (EU) had unfairly discriminated against Malaysia by placing restrictions on its palm oil biofuels.
“The WTO final report clearly finds fault with the EU’s use of indirect land use change (ILUC) to ban palm oil biofuels.
“It also finds fault with the EU’s approach to notifying and consulting with other economies when introducing new trade measures,” he said in a statement.
Earlier, Bernama reported that Malaysia’s complaint against the EU’s refusal to classify palm oil biofuels as renewable energy had “largely failed”.
However, Johari told FMT the report was inaccurate, clarifying that the government’s complaint about the discriminatory manner in which the EU prepared and imposed its measures was accepted.
He said the EU had agreed to comply with the WTO ruling before imposing any restrictions to the import of Malaysian palm oil biofuels.
“The Malaysian government will closely monitor the EU’s changes to its regulations to bring it in line with the WTO’s findings,” the minister said.
He also said the country would pursue compliance proceedings, if necessary.
Johari said the ruling showed that Malaysia’s claims of discrimination were indeed justified.
“This vindicates Malaysia’s pursuit of justice for our biodiesel traders, companies and employees,” he added.
The minister said the government remained fully committed to defending the interests of industry players against trade barriers and discrimination.
The EU had previously determined that palm oil-based biofuels would no longer be classified as renewable fuel by 2030.
The decision was challenged at the WTO by Malaysia and Indonesia, who together provide 85% of the world’s palm oil-based biofuel needs.
