France divides opinion with palm oil tax hike

Malaysian industry leaders have criticised France’s decision to increase its tax on imported palm oil, while environmentalists say the tax doesn’t go far enough.

“The proposed tax is based on the flimsy grounds that palm oil is under-taxed in France. This is false,” said Yusof Basiron, chief executive of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council.

“This action clearly undermines the national development goals of developing countries. The differential tax proposal is a clear violation of both World Trade Organisation and European Union rules.”