Court ruling ends 4 years of litigation over EU duties on Indonesian biodiesel

The European Biodiesel Board obtained a favorable judgement Oct. 17 from the Court of Justice, which rejected an appeal from two Indonesian exporters against a previous judgment of the General Court in December 2022 that denied all claims to annul the countervailing duties on biodiesel imports from Indonesia imposed in November 2019.

The Oct. 17 ruling from the Court of Justice upheld the 2022 ruling of the General Court in its entirety, putting an end to four years of litigation.

“The ruling marks a new milestone for EBB in its long and continuous battle to fight against unfair imports of biodiesel and restore a level playing field in the EU,” said EBB Secretary General Xavier Noyon. “This ruling comes at a critical moment as the countervailing duties will soon expire unless an expiry-review investigation concludes there is a need to extend them for another five-year period.”

EBB said this case is important for any industry facing unfair competition resulting from export taxes.

In this case, the European Commission qualified export taxes applied by the Indonesian government as countervailing subsidies within the meaning of the basic antisubsidy regulation.

In addition, EBB noted this case was based on a threat of material injury.

The appeal brought by the Indonesian producers argued that the General Court’s judgment misinterpreted the EU regulation on protection against subsidized imports, specifically regarding the calculation method of the alleged subsidy and on the determination of the injury.

It was also argued that the appealed judgment misinterpreted World Trade Organization panel reports.

The court, in its decision released Oct. 17, rejected these claims.

EBB noted that Indonesia has now brought this issue before the WTO, as it anticipated the claims from Indonesian exporters to be unsuccessful before the EU courts.

EBB said it remains confident that the WTO ruling would support the work done by the European Commission during the investigation, notably in the light of partial cooperation from the Indonesian counterparts.

“For over 16 years now, the EBB has been fighting against unfair competition from third countries to ensure the long-term viability of the EU biodiesel industry, protect jobs across the EU-27 member states, R&D and progressive independence over fossil fuels,” Noyon said. “EBB remains committed to fight against any unfair trading practices that could jeopardize the full development of the EU biodiesel industry.”