Jakarta. Indonesia has secured a partial victory in a World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute over the European Union's anti-dumping duties on Indonesian fatty acid exports, with the trade minister pledging to continue diplomatic efforts to protect the country's access to the European market.

A WTO dispute panel found that the European Commission made an error in calculating dumping margins by failing to correctly convert the currency used in certain transactions. The panel ruled that this was inconsistent with the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement, giving Indonesia a key legal win.

However, the panel rejected most of Indonesia's broader claims challenging the EU's anti-dumping investigation and methodology.

The case, known as DS622, was filed by Indonesia after the EU imposed anti-dumping duties on imports of Indonesian fatty acid following an investigation by the European Commission. Indonesia argued that the measures violated WTO rules.

The WTO panel ruled that the European Commission did not breach WTO rules by continuing its anti-dumping investigation after the original written complaint was withdrawn. It also rejected Indonesia's claims that the EU had applied an unwritten methodology in calculating dumping margins, saying Indonesia had failed to prove that such a practice existed.

The panel also dismissed Indonesia's objections to the EU's assessment of injury to the European domestic industry and several aspects of how the Commission calculated normal values and profit margins.

Nevertheless, the panel agreed with Indonesia that the Commission's currency conversion error violated Article 2.4.1 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement. As a result, it also found the EU had acted inconsistently with Article 9.3 of the agreement, which governs the calculation of anti-dumping duties.

Indonesia's consequential claim under Article 1 of the Anti-Dumping Agreement was also upheld, although the panel rejected a related claim under Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

Trade Minister Budi Santoso said the government remains committed to defending Indonesia's export interests despite winning only part of the case.

"Although the WTO panel only upheld some of our claims, the government's priority is to move forward by pursuing all available strategic options, including trade diplomacy," Budi said in a statement on Wednesday.

He described the WTO's recognition of flaws in the EU's dumping margin calculation as an important step toward ensuring a fair and rules-based global trading system.

Budi said the government would complement legal efforts with trade diplomacy to minimize barriers facing Indonesian fatty acid exports in the European market.

He added that the government would work closely with industry players to maintain export performance while supporting the downstream palm oil industry, which produces fatty acid as one of its key products.

The Trade Ministry also plans to hold consultations with domestic producers to develop market adjustment strategies and preserve Indonesia's competitiveness in Europe.

Budi credited the partial victory to cooperation among government agencies, businesses, industry associations and international trade law experts who worked together throughout the dispute settlement process.

"We will continue strengthening this collaboration to mitigate the impact of the ruling and safeguard market access for Indonesia's key export commodities," he said.

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