Malaysia seeks WTO aid to challenge EU palm oil move

• On 15 Mar 19, the European Commission concluded that oil palm cultivation results in excessive deforestation, and the use of palm oil in transport fuel should be phased out.
• The Foreign Ministry, in a statement over the weekend, said Putrajaya will bring a challenge to WTO over the European Commission’s plan, described by the government as a “calculated political act” and an unfair trade barrier to palm oil exports.
• The statement noted that Malaysia has consistently provided evidence of the sustainability of its palm oil, highlighting the implementation of the Malaysian Sustainable Palm Oil certification standard.
• Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) also said Putrajaya needs to be more aggressive when tackling the European Union’s (EU) decision to phase out palm oil use in fuel.
• Felda director-general Dr Othman Omar said the decision is a purely business strategy for some EU nations.
• Earlier, Felda conducted a meeting with its head of settlers on ways to counter the issue.
• Othman said Malaysia needs to be smart enough to get to the young people there so that they understand that oil palm cultivation is not killing orang utan.

External Link: https://www.themalaysianinsight.com/s/141214

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