Malaysia files dispute with WTO over EU palm biofuel curbs
Malaysia files dispute with WTO over EU palm biofuel curbs
By Elizabeth Schroeder
January 25, 2021 at 4:09 pm
Despite assurances that palm oil is not being targeted in particular, Malaysia is instituting legal action against the EU’s renewable energy directive.
Photo: Getty Images
Malaysia is in the process of instituting legal action at the global trade watchdog, the World Trade Organization (WTO), against the EU and member states France and Lithuania, in particular, for restricting palm oil-based biofuel production. This was according to a recent statement by the Malaysian government.
This Southeast Asian country, the world’s second largest palm oil producer, called the EU’s renewable-energy directive “discriminatory action,” and was seeking consultations under the WTO’s dispute settlement mechanism, the statement by the Plantation Industries and Commodities Ministry of Malaysia said.