Indonesia eyes lax palm oil rules in EU trade deal.

Palm oil producers in Indonesia stand accused of burning areas of rainforest to make way for plantations, in fires that often spread and devastate the local environment. Palm oil giant Indonesia is pressing the European Union to abandon plans to apply strict environmental standards to the sector and silence negative criticism about the commodity, documents obtained by AFP have revealed. The papers, marked “not for publication” and for distribution only on a need to know” basis, reflect Jakarta’s wish list for a critical industry as the two sides hammer out new rules for a trading relationship worth $35 billion a year.