Jakarta. Indonesia is calling for the revival of the top appeals court at the World Trade Organization, or WTO, by 2026, as some of Jakarta’s cases remain in limbo because of US President Donald Trump’s blockade.

The WTO has what it calls the Appellate Body, a seven-member panel of judges tasked to decide trade disputes. Trump started blocking new judge appointments during his first term, as Washington accused the body of judicial overreaching. Selecting new judges requires the consensus of all WTO members, and so the deadlock persists without Washington’s approval.

The Trump 2.0 administration — which is beefing up its protectionism — shows no interest in putting the Appellate Body back in order. Deputy Trade Minister Dyah Roro Esti revealed Tuesday that Jakarta would pitch the court revival at the WTO’s 14th ministerial conference in Cameroon in March.

“Indonesia is urging a dispute settlement system that is fully functional, binding, two-tier, independent, and accessible by all members. Without an effective system, international trade rules will lose their power. … The Appellate Body must be recovered no later than 2026,” Dyah Roro said. 

In 2019, the European Union (EU) sued Jakarta for stopping exports of unprocessed nickel over concerns that the ban could take a toll on its stainless steel makers. Indonesia lost the case and eventually appealed. Given the Appellate Body’s impasse, the appeal remains untouched, and Jakarta’s nickel ore export ban stays in place to this day. Indonesia has insisted that such a ban would encourage production of more sophisticated, higher-value goods, which can make a bigger economic booster compared to exporting unprocessed ores.

“It’s about safeguarding our dignity. Just like what’s going on in the nickel dispute, we appealed the ruling to legitimize our policy to move up the value chain.  It’s about giving developing economies the freedom to manage their natural resources,” Djatmiko Bris Witjaksono, a senior official at the Trade Ministry, said.

Djatmiko went to talk about the alternative appeal mechanism, dubbed the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), that the EU had co-founded. The European bloc has nudged Jakarta to accept the MPIA to settle a separate panel ruling regarding countervailing duties on Indonesian stainless steel. Jakarta, so far, is not interested in joining the MPIA.

“The reason why Indonesia is not an [MPIA] member is that we want to fully safeguard our rights. We see it as an alternative. We don’t want to be tied down [into this mechanism]. We want to still have our freedom in how we proceed with our appeals,” Djatmiko said.

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