Malaysia directly told the European Union (EU) that it will be forced to take retaliatory actions if it will proceed with its plan to ban palm oil. Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad issued the warning if the EU will go ahead and implement restriction on palm biodiesel.
According to The Star, the prime minister did not say how exactly it would retaliate against the EU but Malaysia is determined to respond aggressively if it will go ahead and issue regulations against palm oil exports.
"We have pointed out to them that we will need to retaliate if they continue with this unfair discrimination against palm oil," PM Mahathir said.
This new statement from Mahathir is in line with its warning to the French President Emmanuel Macron. Last year, Malaysia stated it will implement laws that will restrict imports of French products if Paris will not remove its plans to prohibit the exports of palm oil.
PM Mahathir's warning stemmed from the fact that in December 2018, French lawmakers voted to take out palm oil from its biofuel scheme. This rule on palm oil is set to be implemented starting in January 2020.
Commenting on EU's plan, Reuters quoted Malaysian plantations minister Mah Siew Keong said in a statement last year, "The EU Parliament's plan would allow all other oilseed crops to continue operating under the Renewable Energy Directive (RED), whereas palm oil will be excluded."
He added, "This is a clear case of discrimination against palm oil producing countries. The EU is practicing a form of crop apartheid."
At that time, Prime Minister Mahathir also wrote to Macron and in his letter, he stated that if France will move to ban palm oil, Malaysia will suspend free trade talks with the EU. In addition, it will execute similar sanctions on French exports.
Meanwhile, the proposal regarding this palm oil ban in Europe is scheduled to be presented to the European Parliament in April. The EU officials will talk about the EU Renewable Energy Directive to prohibit and totally ban palm oil biofuel by 2030.
Mahathir's warning to the EU was in response to the calls of palm oil producers in Malaysia. They want the government to be aggressive in its stance concerning the ban on the said commodity that the EU wants to impose soon.
"We agree that we should be more aggressive," PM Mahathir said on Tuesday, March 19.
