On Dec. 19 the Argentine government announced it has submitted a formal complaint to the World Trade Organization against the definitive antidumping tariffs (24.6 percent) imposed by the European Union on biodiesel exports from Argentina to the EU, which went into effect late November.

 The move opens a 60-day period of consultations aimed at exploring the possibility of finding a solution by mutual agreement of the parties. If, after 60 days, no resolution is achieved between the EU and Argentina, the Argentine government will be able to request establishment of a panel of experts to resolve the dispute.

“Argentina is a world leader in biodiesel production,” the Argentine Foreign Ministry stated. “[The] European industry, in contrast, is too broad and lacks the availability of raw materials and the level of vertical integration that characterizes our industry. Instead of undertaking reforms to improve its competitiveness, [the] European industry has sought and achieved an administrative measure in Brussels, totally arbitrary, closing the European market to competition from efficient producers of biodiesel, as is the case of Argentina.”