EU set to impose tariffs on Chinese biodiesel imports

The European Union appears set to impose provisional duties on Chinese biodiesel after discovering that it is being sold on EU markets at unfairly low prices.
The European Commission, which oversees EU trade policy, has proposed setting interim tariffs of between 12.8% and 36.4%, Reuters reported.
The investigation is expected to continue until February, when final five-year duties could be set.
For biodiesel, the proposed duties are 12.8% for EcoCeres Group products, 36.4% for Jiaao Group including Zhejiang Jiaao Enproenergy Co and 25.4% for Zhuoyue Group exports including Longyan Zhuoyue New Energy Co.
The European Biodiesel Board (EBB), which filed the complaint, said earlier this month that an influx of biodiesel from China was having a devastating impact on EU production.
Chevron Renewable Energy Group furloughed German workers, Shell suspended construction of a Dutch plant, BP suspended a project in Germany and Argent Energy closed a biorefinery, EBB said.
According to the data, Chinese companies exported 1.8 million tonnes of biodiesel to the European Union in 2023, accounting for 90% of all Chinese biodiesel exports.
The European Advanced and Waste Biofuels Association said it welcomed the measures, adding that it believed they would lead to a normalisation of market conditions after an “extremely unfavourable” situation since late 2022.