National Biodiesel Board (NBB) protests European biodiesel duties

April 7, 2009
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has submitted comments in response to the European Commission's (EC) decision to impose provisional antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on US biodiesel entering the European Union (EU)

The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) has submitted comments in response to the European Commission's (EC) decision to impose provisional antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on US biodiesel entering the European Union (EU).

"The comments we have filed highlight that arbitrary procedural conclusions and inaccurate market assumptions were used by the EC as the basis for imposing provisional duties on U.S. biodiesel," said Manning Feraci, NBB's vice-president for federal affairs. "The rationale used to impose AD and CVD duties, which clearly benefit the interests of European biodiesel producers, runs afoul of the EU's WTO commitments."

NBB argues that the European industry has not been harmed by US competition and notes what it says are the faulty procedural assumptions that are utilized in the EC's ruling, specifically relating to the arbitrary decision to change the definition of the product under investigation.

NBB also said the provisional ruling appears to omit key information from significant EU biodiesel producers that would be detrimental to the European Biodiesel Board's (EBB) claims in the investigations.

NBB said EU producers have increased their market share by 5.8% and posted a 5.7% profit.