KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will voice out unethical and unfair trade practices by the European Union (EU) in the next World Trade Organisation (WTO) meeting, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
In a statement today, he said the European Parliament’s recent vote to phase out the use of palm oil by 2021 in the new Renewable Energy Directive is regressive and will fuel uncertainty in global trade.
“As more and more countries around the world embrace protectionism, many had hoped the EU will provide the necessary leadership role to uphold the principles of free and fair trade,” he said.
On Jan 17, 2018, the European Parliament voted to phase out palm biofuels from the EU energy mix after 2020. Reports said the final decision will be made in a tripartite meeting alongside the EU Council and Commission.
Mustapa said this development is a clear case of discrimination against palm oil producing countries.
“For small trading nations like Malaysia, this is a worrying development. Coupled with the unfair labeling practices by the private sector in the EU member states, this will harm the livelihoods of over 650,000 small farmers in Malaysia,” he added.
Last year, two million tonnes or 15 per cent of Malaysia’s palm oil exports worth RM10.3 billion were shipped into the EU.
“I urge the European private sector to be fair and not to be influenced by the vote in the European Parliament. Facts must prevail above unsubstantiated claims,” Mustapa said.
The minister also said the EU’s move potentially violate WTO rules, as it is a deliberate attempt to block palm oil access into its market.
Malaysia, he said, will intensify its cooperation with other palm oil producers to be more concerted in voicing out their concerns to WTO.
“In April 2018, We will raise this issue at WTO's Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade in March 2018 and Committee on Market Access,” he said.
He said his ministry is currently chairing the meeting of technical experts among the Friends of Palm Oil FPO in Geneva to assess the possible impact from this latest development and to explore practical solutions.
“Our outreach efforts will also be enhanced to clarify the misperception related to Malaysian palm oil and these will include various lecture series, as well as WTO informal dialogue in the coming months,” Mustapa said.