Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 7, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 1, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleIndonesia has formally requested a suspension-of‑concessions against the EU at the WTO after Brussels failed to comply with a 2025 dispute panel ruling over discriminatory palm oil-based biofuel restrictions.
JAKARTA, March 7 (Reuters) - Indonesia's trade ministry said on Saturday that the government will file a suspension-of-concessions request against the European Union at the World Trade Organization's (WTO's) dispute settlement body, citing the block's failure to meet a WTO ruling in a palm oil case.
Here are the details:
"This step is taken after the EU could not meet the deadline to adjust its policy or was not fully compliant with the ruling and recommendation of the palm oil dispute settlement body," Trade Minister Budi Santoso said in a statement.
The suspension of concession will be focused on trade in goods, Budi said, adding that the government has not ruled out concession suspension in other sectors.
"We will ensure that the losses are thoroughly calculated and the cases are handled effectively, while maintaining bilateral relations with the EU," Budi said.
In 2025, a WTO panel found largely in favour of the EU in a case brought by Indonesia against the bloc's restrictions on palm oil-based biofuel.
The panel ruled that palm oil-based diesel would not be considered a biofuel and its use in transport fuel would effectively be phased out between 2023 and 2030. However, the panel did find fault in the way the EU had prepared, published and administered its measures.
(Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
Indonesia is filing the request because the EU failed to fully comply with a WTO ruling regarding its policy on palm oil-based biofuel.
The suspension of concessions will mainly focus on trade in goods, but other sectors may also be considered.
The WTO panel found largely in favor of the EU, ruling that palm oil-based diesel would be phased out as a transport fuel between 2023 and 2030.
The Indonesian trade ministry stated that losses will be thoroughly calculated and cases handled effectively while maintaining relations with the EU.
The panel found issues with the way the EU prepared, published, and administered its palm oil measures.
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