EU appeals WTO ruling in stainless steel case with Indonesia

VTV.vn - The EU has appealed the WTO's ruling in its anti-dumping tax dispute with Indonesia over stainless steel, as the WTO's appellate body remains paralyzed.

The European Union (EU) on November 27 officially filed an appeal against the World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling that sided with Indonesia in the anti-dumping tax dispute related to stainless steel.

The dispute dates back to 2023, when Indonesia sued the EU for imposing anti-dumping duties of up to 20.2% on Indonesian cold-rolled stainless steel, along with anti-subsidy duties of 21.4% starting in 2022. Last month, a WTO panel concluded that the EU’s measures were inconsistent with international trade rules, opening the possibility of restoring Indonesian stainless steel exports to the European market.

However, the EU immediately sought to overturn the ruling, with EU Ambassador to Indonesia Denis Chaibi saying the bloc “believes that some of the panel’s conclusions need to be adjusted”.

However, the prospects for appeals are all but frozen. The Appellate Body – the WTO’s “supreme court” – has been paralyzed since late 2019 after the US blocked the appointment of new members, preventing any appeals from being heard.

To avoid a legal impasse, the EU has called on Jakarta to join the Multi-Party Interim Arbitration (MPIA) mechanism – an alternative system set up by a group of countries to maintain the dispute settlement process while the Appellate Body is not operational. Indonesia has not yet joined the MPIA.

Mr. Edi Pambudi - Deputy Minister of Coordinating Economic Affairs of Indonesia - said that Jakarta only accepts mechanisms "within the WTO framework", and at the same time admitted that the WTO's institutional crisis has no way out when Washington under President Donald Trump continues to oppose the re-establishment of the Appellate Body.

The appeal comes as Indonesia and the EU have just completed the text of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) - an agreement expected to bring a series of tariff incentives when it takes effect in January 2027. Both sides have affirmed that the CEPA process is not affected by the steel dispute.

Source: https://vtv.vn/eu-khang-cao-phan-quyet-wto-trong-vu-thep-khong-gi-voi-indonesia-100251128064530409.htm