RI gets tough with EU on fatty alcohols

JAKARTA. The World Trade Organization (WTO) established a panel to handle Indonesia's complaint about the European Union's (EU) antidumping measures on imports of certain fatty alcohols.

The Trade Ministry's newly appointed trade defense director, Oke Nurwan, said on Thursday that the government had proposed to the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body to establish the panel despite the EU's request for further bilateral negotiations.

"Musim Mas considered it unfair that the EU had accused the company of price undercutting, thus, it chose to pass the issue to the WTO," he said in a text message.

A list of panelists to settle the case will be released in the coming weeks.

The European Commission issued antidumping duties in November 2011 on imported fatty alcohols from Indonesia, as well as from India and Malaysia, claiming that the products were sold to the 27-nation bloc under production costs or below their respective domestic sales prices.

The commission previously required that the Medan, North Sumatra-based company pay additional duty of €45.63 (US$59.44) per metric tons of fatty alcohols. (The Jakarta Post)