Today's (13th June) announcement by the EU that it will initiate an investigation into imports of subsidised B99 biodiesel from the USA has been welcomed by the European Biodiesel Board (EBB). In a statement issued earlier today the EBB said; "The Commission decision to proceed with an investigation on the B99 case comes as an encouraging move for our industry. This is an important political signal from EU authorities in favour of a fair international trade of biofuels and it is crucial that this will lead to the timely imposition of countervailing measures against US biodiesel imports to the EU."

The statement continued; "For more than one year, B99 blends have been sold in the European market as 'pure biodiesel' and at a substantial discount (over €120-180/tonne), in some cases at a lower price than the raw materials purchased by the EU industry for producing biodiesel. This has created a price-setting competition, progressively disrupting the margins of European biodiesel producers. Against this background, it will be essential that countervaling measures targeting B99 imports are imposed by the EU authorities in a reasonable timeframe. In the absence of such measures, the situation of the EU biodiesel industry would become even more critical than it is at present.

“B99 subsidised exports is a trade practice clearly breaching WTO rules and threatening the concept of international trade in biodiesel. It will be therefore necessary to re-establish promptly a level playing field, ensuring the harmonious development of the EU and international biodiesel markets", the statement concluded.

This decision by the EU follows the lodging of two complaints by EBB last April 29th, where the EU biodiesel industry has provided comprehensive evidences of the injury caused by B99 imports to EU producers.