EU Trade Pact A Boon for Indonesian Palm Oil, But Deforestation Law Remains in the Way

EU. The agreement will have to undergo some lawmaking processes before the tariff eliminations can come into effect as early as 2027. Eddy Martono, the chairman of the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki), admitted Thursday that the so-called EU Deforestation-Free Regulation (EUDR) remained a major obstacle in Jakarta’s trade despite the freshly announced pact. The EUDR will require any imports of palm oil to prove that their products do not come from deforested land using geographical coordinates. Indonesia has repeatedly slammed the EUDR, citing that the stringent geolocation requirements will only burden smallholders. “This highway [CEPA] is huge, but it has a complex new toll system, namely the EUDR. We cannot simply admire the open road; we must be ready to navigate it. This means we must be strategic, compliant, and ready to prove our capabilities. We implement governance. The EUDR is not just a rulebook, it is a challenge to our system. How do we respond? We fight facts ...