Indonesian biodiesel faces US dumping penalty

Bloomberg

The US moved to impose more import duties on biodiesel from Argentina and Indonesia, after finding the fuel is being sold below fair market value.
The US Commerce Department set preliminary import duties of as much as 70.05 percent on Argentine imports and set a 50.71 percent rate on biodiesel from Indonesia.
“The Trump administration is committed to both free and fair trade and will defend American workers against unfair trade practices,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. “Still, we are thankful to the government of Argentina for their proactive approach to solving this issue, and remain optimistic that a negotiated solution can be reached both with Argentina and with Indonesia.”
The decision came in response to a complaint from the National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade Coalition, which argues the fuel is illegally subsidised and being dumped in the US at prices below production costs. The group represents two of the largest US biodiesel producers, Renewable Energy Group Inc. and World Energy Group.
Imports of biodiesel from Argentina rose to $1.2 billion in 2016, while those from Indonesia were $268 million. The US industry had asked for duties of 23.3 percent on Argentina and 34 percent on Indonesia to counter dumping from those nations. For Argentina duties will range from 54.36 percent to 70.05 percent. The US will now begin to collect cash deposits. It is scheduled to decide on the final rates in January.
The biodiesel trade dispute is already spilling over into debates about US renewable fuel policy and the federal programme forcing refiners to use alternative fuel.