Detail

European Union

Biofuels

Biodiesel

01/09/2017

Trade

Import policy (anti-dumping duties)

Lowered, effective 19 September 2017, the EU\'s anti-dumping duties on biodiesel imports from Argentina from 22.0–25.7 percent to 4.5–8.1 percent.

Following consultations with Member States, the European Commission decided to reduce the bloc’s custom duties on biodiesel imports from Argentina, effective 19 September 2017 (see also MPPU Sep.’17). To conform with a recent WTO ruling, the EU lowered its anti-dumping duties to between 4.5 percent and 8.1 percent – as against the 22–25.7 percent range in place since May 2013. The EU’s decision has come at a time when the United States chose to implement its own measures to restrict biodiesel imports from Argentina (see MPPU Sep.’17). Accordingly, Argentina’s export-oriented biodiesel industry welcomed the possibility to resume shipments to the EU market. By contrast, farmer organizations and biodiesel producers in the EU (where biodiesel is mostly produced from locally grown rapeseed crops) criticized the reduction in tariffs and threatened to appeal against the European Commission’s decision. Meanwhile, the EU’s anti-dumping tariffs on Indonesian biodiesel, which were also introduced in 2013, will remain in place, considering that they are subject of a still pending, separate case at the WTO (see MPPU Nov.’16).