US slaps 71-72% duty on Argentine biofuels, EU mulls investigation

The US has slapped an import duty of 71-72% on imports of Argentine biofuel, according to a statement published by the US Department of Commerce, in a move that could trigger a WTO appeal and shut out Argentinian SME from the US market.

The US had proposed to tax imports at 64.17%, but in the end opted for a much higher tariff due to “unfair government subsidisation of products”.

The move effectively has priced Argentina out of the US markets, leaving 600 million litres or around 530,000 mt, of largely soy methyl ester seeking a new home.

On Wednesday, Argentine President told Reuters that he would appeal to the WTO if duties were raised to 64%.

The move comes just a month after the EU slashed duties on Argentinian biofuels from 22-25% to just 4.5-8.1% after a WTO ruling that said the duties, which had been in place since 2013, were unfair.

Rising imports of SME from Argentina has already started to pressure FAME 0 prices, according to trade sources, although most of the product has flowed into the Mediterranean rather than Northwest Europe.

Nevertheless, Europe's biofuels lobby has lodged a complaint with the EU about state subsidies of SME, which is a derivative of soybeans, according to Brussels based news provider Euractiv.

“We lodged a complaint about unfair subsidies with the European Commission on 3 November,” Euractiv quoted Raffaello Garofalo, secretary-general of the European Biodiesel Board, as saying.