DS: European Union — Certain measures concerning palm oil and oil palm crop-based biofuels

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Current status

 

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Key facts

 

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Latest document

  

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Summary of the dispute to date

The summary below was up-to-date at

Consultations

Complaint by Indonesia

On 9 December 2019, Indonesia requested consultations with the European Union regarding certain measures imposed by the European Union and its member States concerning palm oil and oil palm crop-based biofuels from Indonesia.

Indonesia claimed that the measures imposed by the European Union appear to be inconsistent with:

• Articles 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, 2.8, 2.9, 5.1.1, 5.1.2, 5.2, 5.6, 5.8, 12.1 and 12.3 of the TBT Agreement; and
   
• Articles I:1, III:4, X:3(a) and XI:1 of the GATT 1994.

Indonesia claimed that the measures imposed by the European Union member States appear to be inconsistent with:

• Articles 3.1(b) and 5 of the SCM Agreement; and
   
• Articles I:1 and III:2 of the GATT 1994.

On 19 December 2019, Costa Rica and Guatemala requested to join the consultations. On 20 December 2019, Colombia requested to join the consultations. On 23 December 2019, Malaysia requested to join the consultations. On 24 December 2019, Argentina requested to join the consultations. On 26 December 2019, Thailand requested to join the consultations. Subsequently, the European Union informed the DSB that it had accepted the requests of Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Malaysia, and Thailand to join the consultations.

 

Panel and Appellate Body proceedings

On 18 March 2020, Indonesia requested the establishment of a panel. At its meeting on 29 June 2020, the DSB deferred the establishment of a panel.

At its meeting on 29 July 2020, the DSB established a panel. Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Norway, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and the United States reserved their third-party rights.

On 2 November 2020, Indonesia requested that the composition of the panel be determined pursuant to Article 8.7 of the DSU. On 12 November 2020, Deputy Director-General Yonov Frederick Agah, acting in place of the Director-General, composed the panel.

On 8 June 2021, the Chair of the panel informed the DSB that in accordance with the timetable adopted by the panel, after consultations with the parties, the panel estimated to issue its final report to the parties not before the second quarter of 2022. The Chair apprised the DSB that the report would be available to the public once it was circulated to the Members in all three official languages, and that the date of circulation depends on completion of translation. On 22 February 2023, the Chair of the panel informed the DSB that in light of the complexity of the legal and factual issues that had arisen in the dispute, the panel expected to issue its final report to the parties not before the third quarter of 2023.

On 5 March 2024, the Chair of the panel informed the DSB that the panel had granted Indonesia's request of 4 March 2024 that the panel suspend its work pursuant to Article 12.12 of the DSU for a period of two months. The Chair indicated that the suspension of the proceedings was effective as from 5 March 2024, and that the panel would resume its work and circulate the panel report on 6 May 2024.