Indonesia´s interests in winning biodiesel disputes in the World Trade Organization

Abstract

This article analyzes the Indonesia's interest in winning in a series of biodiesel disputes against the EU. These disputes formally entered the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) of the World Trade Organization in 2014 (DS480) and in 2019 (DS593). This article explores how Indonesia could defend its political-economic interest by providing the necessary evidence to the Panel. The logic of the neoliberal institutionalist framework, which does not believe in the harmony of interests, allows for an in-depth analysis of why Indonesia pursues institutional mechanisms within its litigation approach. This research argues that the WTO is perceived as the enabling factor to defend Indonesia's interest, where resource nationalism justifies the state's ability to play an increasingly complex and pervasive role that the private sectors could not otherwise have done. The legal procedures provided for in the WTO system are in line with Indonesia's interest in cooperation and conflict management.

Keywords

• palm oil
• biodiesel
• wto
• dsb
• european union
• indonesia