The World Trade Organization (WTO) ruled on Tuesday in favor of Argentina in a series of complaints the country filed with the international body, challenging punitive duties by the European Union on its biodiesel imports. The WTO, however, said the EU was not violating its rules.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez on Monday asked Congress to eliminate some of the taxes paid by biodiesel manufacturers in a bid to support an industry hard hit by European Union anti-dumping measures, which was the country's main export market.
Argentina's bio-diesel industry warned it faces collapse if Europe makes good on a threat to impose stiff duties on their product next month. The European Commission earlier this month moved to raise duties on Argentine and Indonesian bio-fuels in response to alleged dumping.
Spain has taken a step back with import restrictions on Argentina’s bio-diesel applied in a reprisal move after Argentine president Cristina Fernandez decided to seize control of energy company YPF, subsidiary of Spanish Repsol, earlier this year.
Argentina has filed complaints with the World Trade Organization against the United States over limits on beef and lemon shipments, and against the European Union and Spain for curbs on bio-diesel, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman announced.
The European Union threatened on Wednesday to impose tariffs on bio-diesel imported from Argentina and also Indonesia. The announcement was made today on the bloc’s Official Gazette.
Argentina tightened its grip on the country's energy sector on Friday by ordering a tax hike on bio-diesel exports, a move it said was needed to make domestic fuel prices more affordable, but denied market rumours that it will increase a soybean export tax.
Just days after finalizing the hostile takeover of Spanish-owned oil and gas company YPF, the Argentine government got even more hostile, freezing imports of Spain’s signature delicacy: ham.
A recent study, released on 11 October, Bio-fuel Markets and Technologies released by Pike Research states that the global bio-fuel market will double within the next decade to 183.3 billion dollars from its current level of 82.7 billion, with ethanol production accounting for 78 billion of future worldwide bio-fuel production, while predicting that bio-diesel production will reach 25.5 billion.
Brazilian scientist Expedito Jose de Sá Parent, 70, who is considered the creator of bio-diesel died this week in Fortaleza. President Dilma Rousseff paid tribute to the researcher who developed the ‘green’ fuel from oilseeds.