TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Indonesia, EU embroiled in fresh trade spat over nickel export ban, subsidies
The European Commission sent on Nov. 22 a letter to the WTO challenging Indonesia’s nickel ore export ban, which comes into effect in January next year.
Change Size
Nickel ore processing carried out at a factory owned by PT Vale Indonesia. (JP/Ruslan Sangadji)
A
s the quarrel over Indonesia’s palm oil business rumbles on, trade tensions between Indonesia and the European Union (EU) have flared again following the bloc’s complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO) over Indonesia’s nickel export ban and alleged illegal subsidies.
The European Commission sent on Nov. 22 a letter to the WTO challenging Indonesia’s nickel ore export ban, which comes into effect in January next year, saying Indonesia’s ban “goes against WTO rules”. The commission also openly stated that it wanted to protect European interests, particularly those of European steel producers, who risked losing a major supplier of raw nickel, which is a key ingredient in the production of stainless steel.
Indonesian Ambassador to the United Nations and the WTO in Geneva, Hasan Kleib, confirmed on Wednesday that the EU ambassador in Geneva had sent a notification letter to his office and extended a request for consultation.
“The consultation is a first step toward a dispute resolution at the WTO,” he wrote in a text message.
Indonesia, he went on to say, had to answer the letter in 10 days to state whether or not it wanted to hold the consultation. If Indonesia wishes to discuss the matter, the consultation should be held in 30 days. If not, the EU has the right to ask the WTO to open a dispute panel.
Read also: Nickel mining companies agree to support ore export ban
Hasan said that while waiting for further instruction from the government, Indonesia's representative in Geneva would accept the EU's invitation for the consultation in an agreed time, place and format.
