ndonesia is reluctant to join a European Union push to use a stopgap appeals mechanism to resolve their World Trade Organization disputes, a standoff experts say reflects a broader power struggle over nickel and palm oil amid an impaired WTO dispute settlement mechanism.
The disputes concern EU import duties imposed on Indonesian biodiesel and stainless steel that a WTO panel ruled inconsistent with global trade rules. Both cases are now in limbo, as the rulings in favor of Indonesia cannot be enforced due to the bloc’s appeal.
Edi Prio Pambudi, undersecretary for coordination of international economic cooperation at the Office of the Coordinating Economy Minister, said Indonesia was not inclined to participate in the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), stressing that the country preferred to follow the trade body’s established mechanisms.
“We are a member of the WTO. Even if we are invited, it is not certain [we will join]. We must first examine what the issue entails and consider its consequences,” Edi told reporters on Thursday.
Edi added that Indonesia remained committed to multilateral rules and had, like many members, sought answers from the United States over its long-running block on new WTO adjudicators, a move that had hobbled the system since 2019.
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With no functioning appeals bench, disputes can be stalled though a tactic that has become known as “appealing into the void”, leaving WTO panel rulings unenforceable.