Indonesia calls on EU to lift duties on stainless steel after WTO ruling

The WTO is the only international body dealing with the rules of trade between nations. (Photo/Reuters)

Indonesia on Friday urged the European Union to immediately remove the countervailing and anti-dumping duties on its stainless steel products, after a World Trade Organisation panel backed the Southeast Asian country.

The WTO panel on Thursday said the EU had acted inconsistently with some WTO rules in a dispute over its duties on stainless steel cold-rolled flat products from Indonesia and called on the bloc to bring its measures into conformity with an agreement on subsidies and countervailing measures.

"Indonesia's victory in this dispute is a major achievement in ensuring market access for Indonesian stainless steel in the EU and other countries. We urge the EU to respect the WTO Panel's ruling and immediately lift the unlawful countervailing duties," Trade Minister Budi Santoso said in a ministry statement.

Indonesia brought the dispute to the WTO in 2023 after the EU imposed anti-dumping duties of between 10.2 percent to 20.2 percent on its stainless steel products in November 2021, alleging the EU's tariffs had cut its steel exports severely.

On top of that, the EU has also imposed countervailing duties of up to 21.4 percent since 2022.

"The Indonesian government will continue to monitor so that this decision could be swiftly adopted, thereby further opening up market access for Indonesian stainless steel in the EU," Budi added.

The case is among a number of trade disputes between the EU and Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, even as they finalised negotiations on a free trade deal last month.

Last week, the EU said it will appeal the WTO panel ruling that backed Indonesia over a dispute on the EU's import duties on Indonesian biodiesel.

Source: TRT