Indonesia optimistic about WTO complaint against US penalties on its biodiesel

Indonesia confident of WTO complaint against the US.

JAKARTA: Indonesia is optimistic that the World Trade Organization (WTO) will rule in its favor on its complaint against the US Department of Commerce’s policy to impose anti-subsidy duties on Indonesian biodiesel exports.
“We won a similar dispute against the European Union so it’s proven that we don’t practice dumping and subsidy,” the Trade Ministry’s director general of foreign trade, Oke Nurwan, told Arab News.
In November, the US Department of Commerce imposed duties in the range of 34.45 to 64.73 percent to counter the alleged dumping of Indonesia’s biodiesel shipment.
Paulus Tjakrawan, vice chairman of Indonesia’s Biodiesel Producers Association, said Indonesian biodiesel companies and the government have filed the case at the US Court of International Trade in New York ahead of the Feb. 3 deadline.
“We think that their policy is incorrect,” Tjakrawan told Arab News.
“The goverment and industry players have agreed that it requires a joint effort to file the case,” Nurwan added.
Nurwan said the Indonesian government has also sent a letter of objection to the US commerce department but according to Zelda Kartika, director of American affairs at Indonesia’s Foreign Ministry, there has been no response to Indonesia’s objection.
The EU in 2013 had imposed 8.8 to 23.3 percent dumping margin on the commodity. Indonesia challenged the decision with the WTO in 2014 and in January the WTO ruled in favor of six out of Indonesia’s seven points in the case.
EU’s anti-dumping policy had caused Indonesia’s biodiesel exports to decline by 42.84 percent to $150 million in 2016 from $649 million in 2013. Indonesia’s lowest biodiesel export to the EU was at its lowest in 2015 at only $68 million.
Nurwan said the WTO ruling can serve as a reference for all authorities conducting anti-dumping investigations to be consistent with WTO rules, notably during the investigation process.
“Our commitment is to secure markets for Indonesia’s exports to be able to compete in export destination countries’ markets, such as the EU. Meanwhile, for other countries’ investigation authorities, this case could serve as material for evaluation to be prudent when accusing Indonesia of practicing dumping, ” Nurwan said after the WTO made its decision.
Indonesia’s biodiesel is made mainly from crude palm oil. According to data from Indonesian Palm Oil Producers Association, the total export of palm oil in 2017, including biodiesel, oleochemical and crude palm oil, was 32,184 million tons, an increase from 26,573 million tons in the previous year.
Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said on Jan. 9 that Indonesia would continue the fight against the negative campaign and discrimination against its palm oil in the EU and the US.
“Indonesia shall not stand by idly,” she told an audience of ambassadors in Jakarta.