THE World Trade Organisation (WTO) has established two new dispute panels to look into the Chinese anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Australian barley, and concerning the European Union (EU) measures on palm oil and oil palm crop-based biofuels.

During a meeting of the Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) on May 28, Canberra's request for a panel to determine whether China's decision to impose tariffs on imports of Australian barley to the tune of 73.6 per cent and countervailing duties of 6.9 per cent, is consistent with WTO rules.

Australia reiterated that it values its strong economic and community ties with China and remained open to further discussions on the matter. Beijing said it would vigorously defend itself in the proceedings and was confident that the duty measures would be found consistent with WTO requirements.

The WTO also accepted Malaysia's request to establish a panel examining the EU law on palm oil and oil palm crop-based biofuels. Kuala Lumpur's first request had been blocked by the EU in April's DSB meeting.

Under the EU's renewable energy directive, palm oil-based fuels are to be phased out by 2030, and since palm oil results in excessive deforestation, it can no longer be considered a renewable transport fuel.

The EU said it regretted Malaysia's decision to renew its request for a panel but that it believed the measures at stake were fully justified and that it was confident it would prevail in the dispute proceedings.