G/TBT/W/716  
 
6 March  2020 
(20-1794) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English  
 
EUROPEAN UNION — AMENDMENTS TO THE DIREC TIVE 2009/28/EC, REN EWABLE 
ENERGY DIRECTIVE  
STATEMENT BY INDONESIA  TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRADE  
26 – 27 FEBRUARY 202 0 
The following communication, dated 5 March  2020, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the Indonesia . 
 
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1.  Indonesia remains deeply concerned about the European Union 's decision to discriminate again 
Indonesia 's palm oil and  palm oil -based biofuels and to eventually phase out the use of those 
products.  
2.  Indonesia has previously expressed, in this Committee and in the Council for Trade in Goods, 
why it considers EU RED II and Delegated Regulation 2019/807 to disregard the Euro pean Union 's 
obligations under the TBT Agreement. Indonesia has also repeatedly asked the European Union for 
a justification of these measures, including under Article 2.1, 2.2, 2.8, and article 5 of the TBT 
Agreement, as envisaged by Article 2.5 of the TB T Agreement and to comply with the notification 
obligations under the TBT Agreement.  
3.  Those requests have been to no avail. The European Union continues to refuse offering a 
justification of these measures. Its responses have been limited to denying, withou t any further 
explanation, the application of the TBT Agreement and emphasising that its measures do not ban 
the use of palm oil and palm oil -based biofuels.  
4.  Indonesia regrets that the European Union continues to fail to engage, in a constructive manner, 
with the concerns expressed by Indonesia in this committee, despite many requests for justification 
and further explanation.  
5.  Faced with this lack of cooperation, Indonesia initiated, on 9 December 2019, dispute settlement 
proceedings against the European U nion by filing a request for consultations in DS593 European 
Union – Certain Measures Concerning Palm Oil and Oil Palm Crop -Based Biofuels . 
6.  Indonesia will not repeat today all of the WTO obligations which the European Union has failed 
to respect. It refers  the European Union and all other WTO Members to its consultations request 
in DS593.  
7.  At today 's meeting, Indonesia would like to underscore that EU RED II and Delegated Regulation 
2019/807 impose measures that treat differently biofuels depending on whethe r they are made from 
oil palm and other feed or food crops. Such measures squarely fall within the scope of the TBT 
Agreement.  
8.  Under the disguise of environmental protection and through the use of the ILUC concept for which 
there is not satisfactory and a ccepted scientific basis, the European Union is seeking to exclude palm 
oil and palm oil -based biofuels from its market to the benefit from the EU biofuel industry. Such 
measures are not authorised under the TBT Agreement because they discriminate, create 
unnecessary obstacles to trade and ignore the relevant international standards that exist.  G/TBT/W/716  
 
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  9.  In essence, EU RED II and Delegated Regulation 2019/807 put the burden on developing 
countries such as Indonesia for concerns that the European Union should address  at home. 
Furthermore, if the European Union wishes to address the environmental impact of biofuels based 
on the feed and food crops from which they are made, it must respect, apart from international 
standards and its WTO obligations, also the fact that I ndonesia, like many other countries, has made 
pledges to achieve certain GHG emissions reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. Indonesia 
is also firmly committed to achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals 2030. It falls within the 
sovereignty o f Indonesia to decide on how to reach those targets. The European Union may not put 
itself in the place of Indonesia in making those decisions.  
10.  Indonesia thanks you for your attention and expresses its hope that the European Union will 
finally offer the ju stifications called for by Article 2.5 of the TBT Agreement.  
 
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