02/03/2016 (The Star) - Malaysia is fighting yet another move to smear palm oil in Europe.

This time, the Government is joining hands with Indonesia to stop a French Bill, which could result in the domestic tax on palm oil to jump as high as 800% by 2020.

Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas described the proposed tax structure as “very, very uncalled for”.

“It will effectively threaten the livelihood of millions in both countries.

“There will be a committee meeting with the French over the next few days. Indonesia and Malaysia are working together to try and convince the French government that it’s not wise to move along those lines,” he said.

In January, the French government proposed an amendment to its Law on Biodiversity, which if approved, would increase France’s tax on palm oil products from the current €100 per metric tonne to €300 in 2017 and €900 by 2020.

It was claimed that the palm oil industry was unsustainable and led to deforestation.

The Bill is meant to discourage its citizens from consuming palm oil on the grounds that it had negative health effects.