Datuk Ravi Muthayah, the Secretary-General of Malaysia’s Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities (MPIC), is leading a group to Geneva, Switzerland, for a “first substantive conference” on Malaysia’s action against the European Union (EU) over palm oil discrimination.
Malaysia took action through the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement procedure, according to MPIC’s Facebook post (WTO).
“The dispute resolution meeting will take place from May 10 to 13,” it said.
Malaysia had requested negotiations with the EU, France, and Lithuania on January 15, 2021, about EU actions regarding palm oil and biofuels from Malaysia, according to the ministry.
The Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, recently stated that her ministry would meet with the EU in May to discuss forced labor and palm oil difficulties; however, MPIC has yet to meet with the US Customs and Border Protection (US CBP) agency on the same topic.
Last year, Malaysia used the WTO’s Dispute Settlement 600 system to file a complaint against the EU and its member countries for discriminating against palm oil.