Brussels, 15/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 14 September, the European Commission adopted two regulations extending - for a period of five years - the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports of US B99 biodiesel into the EU.
Implementing Regulation 2015/1518 establishes a definitive anti-dumping duty against imports of biodiesel from the USA, following a re-assessment of this duty (which expired in July 2014), while Implementing Regulation 2015/1519 establishes definitive countervailing duties on imports of US biodiesel, following their re-assessment due to the expiry of these measures (also in July 2014). These two regulations were published in the Official Journal of the EU on 15 September.
European biodiesel producers, who are brought together under the banner of the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), have welcomed this decision - which is the result of a 12-month investigation launched by the Commission at their request. EBB lodged its request for an investigation in April 2014, before the duties on the US B99 expired in July 2014.
“EU biodiesel producers have committed significant efforts to build a world-class leading production capacity. Over the past years, however, they have been unable to fully reap the benefits of their work due to the devastating effects of successive waves of unfair US competition”, EBB states in a press release.
In 2008, EBB lodged anti-dumping and anti-subsidy complaints against imports of US B99 biodiesel. The complaints led to anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures being established for a period of five years from July 1999. The duties were then circumvented via Canada - which led to anti-circumvention measures being imposed in 2011. When these initial duties expired after being established in July 2009, EBB called for them to be extended as it was “fearful of the recurrence of injury to the EU biodiesel producers due to [the] incessant nature of US subsidisation”. (Emmanuel Hagry)