05/08/2010 (The Star Online), Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia has a strong case against the European Union’s Renewable Energy Directive’s (EU RED) requirements for palm oil use as biofuel should it file a discrimination claim to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), said European Centre for International Political Economy director Fredrik Erixon.

He said the EU RED, which effectively restricted foreign exporters’ access to the EU, violated most of the WTO principles and rules as well as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) articles.

“If Europe is determined to pursue the policy set out by the EU RED to block market access for some agriculture crops from other countries, it is likely to make itself the target of a WTO complaint,” he said.

Erixon was presenting a talk on Green Protectionism in the EU; How Europe’s biofuel policy and the RED violate WTO commitment in conjunction with the Palm Oil Leadership (PILA 2010) Award dinner organised by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC) yesterday.

He pointed out that Europe needed to “reconsider” the impact of EU RED, especially against the background of limited resources in biofuel production.

“Europe simply does not have the resources to finance all its domestic biofuel production not does it have competitive advantages in producing biofuels,” Erixon said. Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui has been awarded the 2010 Palm Oil Industry Leadership Award (PILA) by the MPOC. Chin, who was the former Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister from 2004 to 2009, is the third PILA recipient after Tun Lim Keng Yaik and Raja Tan Sri Muhammad Alias.

Chin, who is currently the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, received the award at the MPOC PILA dinner in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

adding that EU should bear in mind that imported vegetable oils were cheaper.

In recent months, many palm oil officials, including MPOC chief executive Tan Sri Dr Yusof Basiron and MPOC chairman Datuk Lee Yeow Chor, had repeatedly said that Malaysia was seriously considering taking up the EU RED issue to the WTO.

Of Europe’s total vegetable oils import, palm oil accounted close to 60% in 2007.

Meanwhile, Datuk Seri Peter Chin Fah Kui has been awarded the 2010 Palm Oil Industry Leadership Award (PILA) by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC).

Chin, who was the former Plantation Industries and Commodities minister from 2004 to 2009, is the third PILA recipient after Tun Lim Keng Yaik and Raja Tan Sri Muhammad Alias.

Chin, whose current post is the Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water, received the award at MPOC PILA dinner in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Plantation Industries and Commodities minister Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said at MPOC PILA dinner yesterday that Chin’s contribution include ensuring a healthy growth of the milling, refining and oleochemical sectors and the development of value added products.

“This contribution has ensured the steady growth of the industry and concurrently ensuring the sector meeting the rigors and demand of the global commodity markets,” he added.

Alan Oxley, chairman of the pro-development non-governmental organisation World Growth, concurred that the EU RED conflicted with the European Union’s commitments under the WTO.

“The EU RED requires the European Commission (EC) to review the social impact as well as the impact on food prices, and is empowered to propose corrective action. Regulating imports to secure compliance to correct these effects will only widen the conflict with Europe’s WTO obligations,” he said. “If that was not enough, the EU RED discriminates against imported biofuels by setting a different carbon rating which appears to have been arbitrarily selected by the EC.” -ENDS-