European Biodiesel Board condemns subsidized US biodiesel exports; threatens anti-dumping, anti-subsidy complaint

The European Biodiesel Board (EBB) today launched a broadside against US biodiesel exporters, saying that “biodiesel producers are experiencing dumping competition from B99 blends. This competition is…putting out of business most EU producers.” The EBB represents 56 European producers and more than 80 percent of European biodiesel production.

The Board estimated that 800,000 tons of biodiesel have been imported from the United States by Europeans in 2007 to date, up from 100,000 tons for the whole of 2006. The Board points out that biodiesel producers in the US receive a subsidy of up to $300 per ton, and that as a result, US producers can export to Europe for less than the cost that Europeans pay for raw materials.

The EBB pointed out that the closing the “splash and dash” loophole is not enough. “Splash and dash” refers to a practice in which foreign producers export to the US, blend B100 to B99.9 by adding a splash of petroleum diesel, and ship what is marketed as “pure” biodiesel to Europe and claiming the US blending subsidy. The European Biodiesel Board claims that “splash and dash” accounts for only 10% of overall B99 shipments reaching Europe.

Earlier this month, the European Renewable Energy Association asked the UK’s Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and the European Union to ban cheap imported B99 biodiesel coming from the US. US groups such as the National Biodiesel Board and the American Biofuels Council have supported these efforts, but US lawmakers may take up to a year to reverse the subsidies.

“That $1 tax credit for blending was done for the purpose for domestic production and consumption,” said Sean O’Hanlon, executive director of the American Biofuels Council. “Congress never intended it to be blended and shipped out.”