JAKARTA – Trade Deputy Minister (Wamendag) Jerry Sambuaga has stated that the European Union (EU) is not consistent with its stance on the principles of fair and free trade when it comes to the issue of palm oil.
“I’ve noticed that the EU has been continually seeking pretexts to block the imports of palm oil into the region. Scientifically speaking, their pretexts have no strong basis, indicating that they are only seeking to shun away from the practices of fair and free trade,” the Indonesian deputy minister told the press on Saturday, 22 May 2021.
“We hope the EU will be fair and base their arguments on scientific evidences. Only that way they can provide objective arguments. If they are scientifically correct, then we’re ready to accept their arguments,” he added.
Jerry said that the EU has been wrong in the implementation of environmental parameters. The EU tends to see the palm oil issue partially without considering thoroughly the historical process of the land use.
“For example, Indonesia is not allowed to use productive forests for oil palm plantations. They expressed their criticisms and disagreements when their own forests had been logged and cleared long time ago for agriculture and other economic purposes. But they made no issue on their own forests that had been in very small percentage compared to the size of forests owned by Indonesia,” said Jerry.
Jerry asserted that Indonesia has the rights to allocate its natural resources based on the prevailing policies set by Indonesia. “It’s part of our economic sovereignty as a country,” he said.
Indonesia has designed its economic and development policies by considering all aspects and principles of development programs, including environment, economy, social, culture and health. “The policies are designed by considering the real condition of Indonesia’s natural resources and the public welfare of Indonesian people,” he said.
He said that all sides should be committed to complying with the principles of fair and free trade at the global market.
The palm oil is the top commodity of Indonesia, which plays a very important role in the national economy. The Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) predicted that in 2020, the palm oil exports contributed a foreign exchange income of around USD$20 – USD$21 billion or around Rp298.2 trillion (Rp14,200 per USD). Through its backward and forward linkages, the palm oil industry has created very significant multiplier effects to the local economies in each producing areas and the national economy of Indonesia.
The EU had questioned Indonesia’s crude palm oil (CPO) based products, especially biodiesel, saying that it has violated ILUC and REDD+. Indonesia had filed a lawsuit against the EU at the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The deputy minister has been several times leading Indonesian delegation to discuss about the palm oil with the EU delegation in Geneva, Switzerland. The millennial minister is optimistic that Indonesia will win the case at the WTO and Indonesia’s palm oil will be gaining stronger ground at the international market. (*)
Source: Jurnas.com
