Indonesia’s lead on Maritime Affairs and Investment, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, shared that the European Union (EU) has come to accept Indonesia’s decision to stop exporting nickel ore.
“After discussions with the EU, they’ve started to see our point of view regarding stopping our nickel ore exports,” Luhut mentioned following a meeting with the Indonesian House of Representatives’ Budget Committee this Wednesday.
He revealed that discussions had been held with the EU regarding their legal action against Indonesia at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over the nickel export ban.
“Our team had conversations with them, and the EU is open to discussing our decision to halt nickel shipments,” he explained.
In addition to acknowledging the nickel export ban, the EU has requested Indonesia to keep the export channels open for nickel derivatives, like precursor materials.
“We’re not stopping the export of precursors. I told the EU we decide on our supply capabilities. They can’t dictate our policies,” Luhut firmly stated.
Luhut detailed that the reason behind banning nickel ore exports is to foster the development of Indonesia’s nickel industry, increasing the country’s value from turning nickel ore into higher-value products like stainless steel.
He is driven to position Indonesia as a key player in setting global nickel prices.
Despite Indonesia being ruled against by the EU in a WTO lawsuit in October 2022 concerning the ban that was implemented from January 1, 2020, the focus was on the emerging nickel industry inside Indonesia.
The WTO ruled against Indonesia because it viewed the country’s nickel industry as not sufficiently developed to justify a ban on raw nickel exports. According to the WTO, a country must have a well-established industry if it restricts commodity exports, a criterion Indonesia didn’t meet in their opinion.
Nevertheless, Indonesian President Joko Widodo has been unwavering in his intentions to contest the EU’s lawsuit on the nickel export and industry development policies.
