23/01/2018 (The Star Online) - KUALA LUMPUR: The European Union’s (EU) latest move is a potential violation of the World Trade Organisation's (WTO) rules as it is a deliberate attempt to block the access of palm oil into their market, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said.

Malaysia will intensify collaboration with other palm oil producing countries to consider more concerted efforts to voice its strong concern before the various committees under the WTO, he said with regards to the recent decision by the European Parliament to phase out the use of palm oil by 2021 in the new EU renewable energy directive.

“More immediately, we will raise this issue at the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary and Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade in March 2018 and Committee on Market Access in April 2018,” he said in a statement here. — Bernama