Brazil wins WTO trade barriers case against Indonesia

On November 10th, Brazil won a case against Indonesia that was filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there was an “undue delay” by Indonesia in recognizing Brazil’s health certification process for exports of chicken meat to the Asian country.

According to the file, the organization announced a favorable result for Brazil through an Implementation Panel initiated by the government against Indonesian trade barriers to protein imports referring to a certification process that refers to 2009.

“According to the report, several measures applied by Indonesia continue to disagree with WTO rules … Brazil expects Indonesia to adjust its legislation and practices as soon as possible in order to definitively end the dispute”, said the ministry.

Brazil launched a WTO lawsuit against Indonesia in October 2014, alleging that the country’s rules and procedures made it difficult for meat to enter; the complaint that was reinforced last year.

WTO judges had already decided in 2017 that Indonesia should take several measures on the issue, including accepting the international health certificate for the entry of Brazilian chicken. But Jakarta ignored both the judges’ recommendations and Brazilian pressure to resolve the imbroglio.

In September 2019, Indonesia said it had revised rules to allow imports of chicken meat and poultry products from Brazil after an initial WTO decision. At the time, the Indonesian government stated that it followed the organization’s recommendations and that importers had not requested purchases from Brazil due to the high freight cost.

“As in the first litigation panel concluded in 2017, the result was largely favorable to Brazil. The final report of the Implementation Panel may be adopted by the WTO Dispute Settlement Body within 60 days”, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

According to the Brazilian government, access to the Indonesian market is “part of the strategic objective of opening and consolidating new markets in Southeast Asia”, where the consumption of animal protein has increased significantly.

Sources: Reuters and Valor Econômico

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