Biodiesel producers in the European Union (EU) had earlier complained against unfair competition from subsidized US-origin imports, following which the European Commission (EC) had initiated an anti-dumping inquiry.
The US National Biodiesel Board has rejected these anti-dumping allegations in a letter to the EC saying that the European biodiesel industry is a victim of overinvestment in capacity, inflated feedstock prices and the elimination of a tax incentive for biodiesel in Germany.
The European biodiesel industry has said that splash-and-dash operations import volumes to the US, blend it with conventional oil and re-export it to Europe. The US biodiesel board has said that it is working to eradicate such operations.
Xavier Beulin, president of Sofiproteol, the financial arm of the French oil-seed industry, said: That European companies may be benefiting from the subsidy has no legal bearing at all. The US biodiesel industry, under the cover of policies for energy security and independence, is creating an export industry dependent on subsidies.
