New European Union (EU) rules on biofuels have led to mounting tensions between the EU and some of its trading partners. A particularly contentious measure is the ‘freeze and phase-out’ of certain biofuels in the transport sector with a high indirect land-use change risk, as introduced by the recast of the Renewable Energy Directive. In light of Indonesia’s recent move to initiate proceedings against the EU at the World Trade Organization (WTO), this article systematically explores relevant key concepts of WTO law and analyses the compatibility of the EU measures with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT Agreement). While the EU measures are carefully crafted to avoid potential WTO pitfalls—such as applicability of the TBT Agreement—the article identifies several critical aspects that raise doubts about the measure’s compatibility with WTO law. In particular, the seemingly deliberate targeting of palm oil casts doubt on the justification of the measure on environmental grounds.

中文翻译：

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棕榈油、RED II 和 WTO 法：欧盟可持续生物燃料政策陷入绿色困境？

欧盟 (EU) 关于生物燃料的新规定导致欧盟与其一些贸易伙伴之间的紧张局势加剧。一项特别有争议的措施是“冻结和淘汰”运输部门中具有高间接土地利用变化风险的某些生物燃料，正如重新制定的可再生能源指令所引入的那样。针对印尼近期在世界贸易组织（WTO）对欧盟提起诉讼的举措，本文系统探讨了WTO法律的相关关键概念，并分析了欧盟措施与关税及贸易总协定（GATT）的兼容性技术性贸易壁垒协定（TBT 协定）。虽然欧盟的措施是精心制定的，以避免潜在的 WTO 陷阱——例如 TBT 协议的适用性——但文章确定了几个关键方面，这些方面引发了对该措施是否符合 WTO 法律的怀疑。特别是，看似蓄意针对棕榈油的行为令人怀疑该措施在环境方面的合理性。