Trade Minister Budi Santoso said the EU’s move could be viewed as an attempt to “buy time” while admitting that the option to appeal was a right of every WTO member.

“The decision-making process in the [WTO dispute settlement] panel has been undertaken according to procedure, led by experienced and credible panelists. This appeal is not in line with the spirit of strengthening [bilateral] economic ties,” Budi said in a press statement on Thursday.

Last month, Jakarta and Brussels signed the Indonesia-EU Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA), which will eventually abolish more than 98 percent of general tariffs both ways.

While the CEPA all but abolishes general tariffs, countervailing duties are a separate tariff instrument that will remain in place until the enforcing authority removes them.

The EU has been charging countervailing duties of 8 to 18 percent on biodiesel imported from Indonesia since 2019, thereby protecting European companies that mainly produce rapeseed-based biodiesel, which is more expensive than Indonesia’s palm oil-based fuel.

The tariffs were imposed after an investigation by the European Commission concluded that the archipelago’s producers profited from grants, tax benefits and access to raw materials below market prices.