The U.S. Commerce Department said it would begin a review of antidumping duties it placed last year on biodiesel imported from Argentina, the Argentine Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
United States biodiesel producers asked the government to impose antidumping duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia that it says have flooded the US market and violated trade agreements. The move by the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) trade group comes after two years of tension between US and foreign producers over soaring imports that the group says have threatened the profitability of domestic producers.
The World Trade Organization confirmed on appeal on Thursday its ruling partially in favor of Argentina in its dispute with the European Union over duties the bloc imposes on imported biodiesel.
Argentina formally requested the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Dispute Settlement Body (DSB) the establishment of a panel to address the European Union antidumping measures against Argentine bio-diesel. The initiative was rejected by the EU this week.
Argentina has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization against the European Union’s decision to impose anti-dumping duties on its biodiesel exports. The duties are “clearly protectionist” and will affect annual sales worth more than 1.5 billion, Argentina’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday on its website.
European Union member states agreed to impose punitive duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia, which are accused of selling it into the bloc at unfairly low prices, according to diplomats. Argentina has anticipated it will take the case to the World Trade Organization.
Argentine bio-diesel producers will fight European Union proposals to impose punitive duties on imports from the country, saying the move would remove its biggest export market and raise prices in Europe.
The European Union is imposing punitive duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia, charging them with selling the product into the bloc at unfairly low prices, setting provisional tariffs ranging from 6.8 to 10.6 % for imports from Argentina and between zero and 9.6 % for those from Indonesia.
Argentine President Cristina Fernández minimized Spain’s decision to reduce the bio-diesel imports as a retaliation over the expropriation of YPF and called for “calm” after assuring that Argentina “is in condition to absorb” that production in the domestic market.