26/04/2012 (The Nation) - The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has come under attack   for imposing trade barrier on renewable fuels from palm oil in Nigeria.

The Initiative Public Policy Analysis (IPPA), a think tank group, said the barrier could stop Nigeria and other developing countries from reaping the benefits of the global development on bio-fuels.

IPPA Director, Thompson Ayodele said EPA’s ruling against palm oil under the Renewable Fuel Standard could have serious consequences for producers in Nigeria and throughout Africa.

According to him, EPA’s recent decision reflects a coordinated effort on the part of the European Union and the United States to undermine agriculture development in the developing world.

He added that while the EPA’s Notice of Data Availability (NODA) specifically referred to the cultivation of palm oil in Southeast Asia, the decision ignored the global nature of the industry and the impact that this decision will have for the millions of farmers and rural communities along the equator, particularly in Nigeria.

He said  the decision was a reflection of a long-term trend of undermining food security and poverty alleviation in the developing world under the guise of protecting domestic producers.

Ayodele said: “The US  has a long history of protecting its producers. Developing countries’ palm oil would pose a threat to American seed farmers and bio-fuel producers. And while the US and Europe advance the practice of protectionism and trade distortions, Africa’s small farmers and US consumers will bear the burden of the EPA’s decision”.

According to him, a number of African countries have been attracting billions of dollars in investment for the development of domestic palm oil sectors.

Liberia alone, he said, has attracted more than $2.6 billion investment in recent years from countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, promising millions of dollars in government revenue and providing more than 35,000 jobs in the country.

“Unfortunately, amidst increasing demand for vegetable oils for edible and energy purposes, there has also been the emergence of non-tariff barriers to trade.

“As a supporter of economic development in Nigeria and Africa, the IPPA has been following the global effort to undermine agriculture expansion in the developing world – particularly through the palm oil sector.