Brussels, 22/07/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 20 July, the EU rejected the first of Indonesia's arbitration requests to the WTO to rule on Jakarta's complaint against EU anti-dumping duties on Indonesian exports of biodiesel (DS 480).
Indonesia asked the WTO's dispute settlement body (DSB) to examine, firstly, the EU's basic anti-dumping regulation and related practices and measures, and secondly, the EU's anti-dumping measures imposed on biodiesel imports from Indonesia, including provisional measures imposed regarding an Indonesian exporting producer.
In May 2013 the EU temporarily set up anti-dumping duties on imports of biodiesel from Indonesia and Argentina. These duties were then made definitive in November 2013 for a period of five years. The EU's objective was to re-establish a competitive situation with regard to the dumping that, according to a Commission investigation, resulted from a system of differential tax on exports which was set up by these two countries to support their biodiesel.
This system depends on the application of a higher tax for raw materials (Argentine soya and Indonesian biodiesel) than for processed products based on these raw materials.
Argentina appealed to the WTO in March 2014 (DS 473) and obtained the establishment of a special panel in April 2014 to rule on this issue (see EUROPE 11068). The panel's verdict is expected for the end of 2015.
Indonesia told the DSB on Monday that it believed the EU's measures were incompatible with its WTO obligations. The consultations held in July did not enable the issue to be resolved.
The EU said it was convinced that its measures were compatible with the WTO agreements and rejected the establishment of a special group. The DSB has therefore postponed establishing a special panel.
According to the WTO rules, a member country cannot oppose a second request for arbitration from another WTO member. The EU will not therefore be able to oppose a second Indonesian request to establish a WTO panel. The next DSB meeting has been scheduled for 31 August. (Emmanuel Hagry)