G/TBT/W/718   
9 March 2020  
(20-1804) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: Spanish  
 
  
EUROPEAN UNION – AMENDMENTS TO THE DIREC TIVE 2009/28/EC,  
RENEWABLE ENERGY DIR ECTIVE  
STATEMENT BY ECUADOR  TO THE COMMITTEE  
ON TECHNICAL BARRIER S TO TRADE  
26 AND 27 FEBRUARY 2020  
The following communication, dated 6 March 2020, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Ecuador . 
 
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1.  Ecuador thanks Colombia and Malaysia, and agrees with  the analysis made . 
2.  We wish to refer Members to documents G/TBT/W/650  and G/TBT/W/689 , which contain the 
statements made by Ecuador on this matter during the meetings of this Committee held in June and 
November 2019, and request that these statements be included in the minutes of this meeting . 
3.  My delega tion is compelled to  reiterate its conce rn regarding  this European Union (EU) legislation 
and the methodology for calculating  indirect land use change ( ILUC) upon which it is based . 
4.  On the basis of  this methodology , the EU legislation is designed in such a manner  that palm oil 
is automatically considered to present a high ILUC risk, without taking into account that it can also 
present a low ILUC risk when produced sustainably.  
5.  Thanks to the  contribution  of the oil palm  sector , Ecuador is one of the countries that has made 
the most progress in meeting its national targets and commitments for mitigating climate change 
under  the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change . 
6.  It is fundamental that such achievements made under  international commitments be taken  into 
consideration . The EU  should encourage , rather than penalize,  countries that have made a significant 
effort to produce sustainable palm oil , especially given the profound  socio-economic impact that this 
legislation could have on our small -scale produ cers. 
7.  In its current form, the legislation  has a dual effect :  
• On the one hand, it leads to  arbitrary discrimination between like biofuels, some of which 
are produced from crops such as rapeseed and sunflower that are less productive per 
hectare than oil p alm, yet are  not considered to present a  high ILUC risk. This could be 
inconsistent with obligations under Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement and Article I:1 of the 
GATT 1994 . 
• On the other hand, it favours the use of raw materials of European origin, which would 
violate  the principle of national treatment contained in Article 2.1 of the TBT Agreement 
and Article III:4 of the GATT 1994 .  
8.  Consequently , Ecuador hopes that  next year 's revi sion of the delegated act  results in a change 
in the methodology and the manner in which it is being used in the legislation to single out palm oil 
for exclusion.  G/TBT/W/718  
 
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  9.  We understand that the  EU is seeking to meet legitimate targets  as part of its commitm ent and 
contribution to mitigating the effects of climate change . Nonetheless , a legitimate environmental 
objective  does not justify  limiting the rural development capacities of a predominantly agricultural 
country , nor does it justify  the restric tion of trade based on non -consensual measures , especially 
when there are binding parameters agreed upon at an international level to measure countries' 
effectiveness in managing deforesta tion, gas emissions and climate change . 
10.  Any environmental measure  for fulfill ing the European climate agenda must be compatible with 
the multilateral trading system . In other words, the measure must not constitute a means of 
arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination, or a disguised restriction on international trade . 
 
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