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Palm oil dispute won't have bearing on Indonesia, Malaysia EU trade talks: minister
Responding to a Financial Times report which said the talks could be delayed over the palm oil issue, commodities minister Fadillah Yusof said Malaysia's negotiations with the EU on a trade deal, which have been on hold since 2012, could be resumed if the EU would treat Malaysia with fairness and as a partner.
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Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto (left) and Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Fadillah Yusof (right) attend a press conference in Jakarta on February 9, 2023.
(AFP/Zae Muhammad)
A
dispute between the European Union and major palm oil producers Indonesia and Malaysia over a new deforestation law will have no bearing on the two countries' stalled negotiations with the bloc on free trade agreements, a Malaysian minister said on Thursday.
Responding to a Financial Times report which said the talks could be delayed over the palm oil issue, commodities minister Fadillah Yusof said Malaysia's negotiations with the EU on a trade deal, which have been on hold since 2012, could be resumed if the EU would treat Malaysia with fairness and as a partner.
Fadillah also said Indonesia had been negotiating on an EU FTA for seven years and was "very patient" about waiting longer.
Top officials from Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's biggest producers of palm oil, have been in Brussels voicing concern over an EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which they believe could be detrimental to small farming businesses.
"The first step is to look into EUDR," Fadillah, who is also deputy minister, told reporters in Brussels, a recording of which was provided by the ministry.
"We went to see them, we presented our case in particular the fair treatment and how they are going to respond as far as smallholders are concerned ... if there is a good response from them, definitely FTA will be one of the areas that we are looking at."
Indonesia's economic ministry and trade ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
