The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has filed an antidumping and countervailing duty petition, making the case that Argentine and Indonesian companies are violating trade laws by flooding the US market with dumped and subsidized biodiesel.
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB), the US trade association representing the biodiesel and renewable diesel industries has filed an antidumping and countervailing duty petition, making the case that Argentine and Indonesian companies are violating trade laws by flooding the US market with dumped and subsidized biodiesel.
The petition was filed on March 23 with the US Department of Commerce and the US International Trade Commission on behalf of the National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade Coalition, which is made up of the National Biodiesel Board and US biodiesel producers.
– The National Biodiesel Board and US biodiesel industry are committed to fair trade, and we support the right of producers and workers to compete on a level playing field. This is a simple case where companies in Argentina and Indonesia are getting advantages that cheat US trade laws and are counter to fair competition. NBB is involved because US biodiesel production, which currently supports more than 50 000 American jobs, is being put at risk by unfair market practices, said Donnell Rehagen, CEO National Biodiesel Board CEO in a statement.
According to NBB, because of “illegal” trade activities, biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia surged by 464 percent from 2014 to 2016. That growth has taken 18.3 percentage points of market share from US manufacturers.
– The resulting imbalance caused by unfair trade practices is suffocating US biodiesel producers. Our goal is to create a level playing field to give markets, consumers and retailers access to the benefits of true and fair competition, said Rehagen explained.
Based on NBB’s review, Argentine and Indonesian producers are dumping their biodiesel in the United States by selling at prices that are “substantially” below their costs of production. This is reflected in the petition’s alleged dumping margins of 23.3percent for Argentina and 34.0 percent for Indonesia. The petition also alleges illegal subsidies based on numerous government programs in those countries.
This is not the first time that Argentine and Indonesian biodiesel producers have been charged with violating international trade laws. In 2013, the EU imposed 41.9 to 49.2 percent duties on Argentina and 8.8 to 23.3 percent duties on Indonesia. In 2016, Peru imposed both antidumping and countervailing duties on Argentine biodiesel.
The National Biodiesel Board is the US trade association representing the biodiesel and renewable diesel industries, including producers, feedstock suppliers, and fuel distributors.
