WTO agrees dispute panel to review EU import duties on Indonesian biodiesel

World Trade Organization's (WTO) dispute settlement body has agreed to establish a panel to review countervailing duties imposed by the European Union (EU) on imports of biodiesel from Indonesia, the global trade body said late on Monday.

Indonesia has requested WTO dispute consultations with the EU regarding the bloc's imposition of duties on imports of biodiesel from the Southeast Asia nation in August.

However after the consultation failed to reach an agreement, last month the world's biggest palm oil producer requested WTO to establish a dispute settlement body, which EU previously did not accept.

"Efforts to appeal this case to the WTO are very strategic to maintain market access for Indonesian biodiesel products in the EU market which is currently subject to countervailing duties of 8% to 18%," said Budi Santoso, senior official at Indonesian trade ministry on Tuesday.

The countervailing duties were imposed for five years December 10, 2019, up to December 10, 2024, Budi added.

Indonesian biofuel producers association said the duties have been burdening Indonesian biodiesel exporters and hoped for the WTO panel could immediately start the proceedings, the group chairperson Paulus Tjakrawan told Reuters.

The WTO said late on Monday the United States, the United Kingdom, Norway, the Russian Federation, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, Canada, China, Argentina and Türkiye had reserved their third-party rights to participate in the panel proceedings.

Source: Reuters

Indonesian trade minister denies that TikTok filed for ecommerce permit

On Tuesday, Indonesia’s Deputy Minister of Trade Jerry Sambuaga said that TikTok is in the process of obtaining an ecommerce permit from the government, state media Antara reported.

But Zulkifli Hasan, Indonesia’s minister of trade and Sambuaga’s direct superior, has denied that claim. Tech in Asiaasked Hasan through text message to confirm whether TikTok is applying for such a license or creating a new entity for its ecommerce business.

Hasan did not elaborate further. Tech in Asia has also reached out to Isy Karim, the Ministry of Trade’s director general of domestic trade, for more details.

TikTok has not responded to a request for comment.

After TikTok Shop was shut down in October, the social media firm’s ecommerce future in Indonesia remains in limbo. To overcome regulatory hurdles, one path TikTok is exploring is to partner with local ecommerce players. Most recently, it is said to be in discussions to invest in GoTo and collaborate with Tokopedia to resume ecommerce operations in the country.

The Indonesian government’s ban on companies operating social media and ecommerce in a single platform came in September. The regulation prohibits direct transactions on social media platforms, ultimately leading to TikTok closing its ecommerce services.

Indonesia aside, Malaysia is also studying the possibility of regulating TikTok and its ecommerce features. The Philippines is also considering a TikTok ban among security workers, citing cyberespionage fears.

Source: TechinAsia

Antam to sign joint venture deal on EV battery plant in December


State-owned nickel and gold mining firm PT Aneka Tambang (Antam) is expected to sign a joint venture agreement with China’s Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) to produce raw materials for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in December. 

The move is part of a larger plan to build an end-to-end domestic supply chain for EV batteries in Indonesia, an effort spearheaded by state-owned PT Indonesia Battery Holding (IBC). 

The EV battery holding company is also in talks with CATL and South Korea’s LG Energy Solutions, the world’s top-two EV battery makers by market share, to establish other joint ventures to develop the upstream-to-downstream EV battery industry. 

Antam business development director I Dewa Bagus Wirantayasaid the company and CATL planned to sign the joint venture agreement on Dec. 10. 

The two firms were finalizing the precondition, the divestiture of Antam's nickel ore mining arm PT Sumber Daya Arindo (SDA), as well as several cooperation measures in the upstream and downstream businesses, he explained. 

“There will be a joint venture signing, there will be a close of the transaction. Afterward, [upstream operations] will begin,” Dewa told reporters in Jakarta on Monday in response to a question about when the joint venture would begin operations.

Mining holding company MIND ID, oil and gas giant Pertamina, electricity monopoly PLN and Antam each own 25 percent of IBC.  

MIND ID president director Hendi Prio Santoso previously estimated that the firm would need US$12 billion to develop an EV battery plant with a capacity of 15 gigawatts until 2027. 

IBC director Toto Nugroho said the company played a significant role in Indonesia’s net-zero emissions goal by working to set up a 3.5 gigawatt-hour (GWh) energy storage system (ESS) by 2030, which the company plans to accomplishin collaboration with Antam. 

“So, battery production for ESS and EV could take place in Indonesia by developing Antam’s [downstream business],” he told House of Representatives Commission VII, which oversees energy and mineral resources, in Jakarta on Monday.

Dozens of battery-related development projects are ongoing in the country, mainly in nickel-rich Sulawesi and North Maluku, including projects led by CATL and LG Energy Solution. 

IBC in April last year also signed a framework agreement with Antam, CBL and LG Energy Solution underpinning the firms'plan to create joint ventures in every value chain. 

Several local companies are building smelters to process nickel ore for battery feedstock. 

Others are focusing on manufacturing and/or distributing electric two-wheelers and commercial EVs, including buses and trucks, as electric cars remain unaffordable for most Indonesians. Still others are installing charging or battery-swap stations, many collaborating with foreign companies to catch up on technology and for development aid. 

On April 14, Ningbo Contemporary Brunp Lygend Co (CBL), a CATL subsidiary, signed a framework agreement with Antam and IBC to develop the EV battery ecosystem in Indonesia. 

The project, located in the FHT Industrial Park, North Maluku, is worth around $6 billion and will include nickel mining and processing, EV battery materials and EV battery manufacturing, as well as battery recycling.

Source: The Jakarta Post