The European Commission published a regulation making Argentine and Indonesian biodiesel imports subject to registration in frame of an antisubsidy complaint. This decision supports the arguments drawn by European biodiesel industry that policy-based differential export taxes (DETs) play a distortive role in international trade.

In reaction to damaging imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia supported by DETs policy, the European Biodiesel Board launched both an antidumping and an antisubsidy complaint in 2012. These initiatives were coupled with a request for registration of imports in order to ensure that flows would be considered in defining potential duties.

The commission regulation indicates that it has at its disposal sufficient prima facie evidence that imports of the product concerned from the countries are being subsidized through a system of DETs.

The European Commission is clearly recognizing that in the antisubsidy complaint the union industry, represented by EBB, provided evidence that the product concerned is being subsidized in both countries concerned through a system of DETs. In both countries concerned, an export tax is charged on the raw material, at rates that are higher than those charged on the export of biodiesel. This approach effectively obliges the producers of the raw material to sell on the domestic market, thus depressing prices and artificially reducing the costs of the biodiesel producers.

“After registration of imports for antidumping, decided last Jan. 28, this further move of the commission recognizes that there is enough prima facie evidence of the distortive effect of DETs and of the injury suffered by European industry due to unfair imports of Argentine and Indonesian biodiesel,” said Raffaello Garofalo, EBB secretary general.

With respect to blends, importers are now required, by the regulation published, to indicate to customs the proportion of the total content of biodiesel in the blends, for subsequent registration. The registration measures will remain in force for the next nine months, meanwhile investigations will continue in the next weeks to establish provisional and definitive duties against both dumped and subsidized imports from these two countries.

“We are now expecting the outcome of investigations for both antidumping and antisubsidy with potential provisional measures as early as May 2013,” explained Garofalo. EBB intends to oppose any attempts to undermine fair international trade of sustainable biodiesel. “Biodiesel is a cornerstone for Europe’s green economy, guaranteeing sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels while also supporting European employment for up to hundred thousand of EU jobs,” Garofalo said.