Commerce Department finds Argentina, Indonesia unfairly dumped biodiesel

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1, 2017 - The Commerce Department found that biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia are sold into the U.S. below fair value, handing the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) a win in the preliminaries of its dumping case. The department imposed preliminary duties on imports from the two countries based on the amount of dumping found. “The law is clear, and violations of trade law shouldn’t be ignored at the expense of the livelihoods of thousands of Americans employed or affected by biodiesel,” said Doug Whitehead, NBB’s chief operating officer. As a result of Commerce’s ruling, importers will be required to pay cash deposits on biodiesel imported from the two countries. The deposit requirements are in addition to the deposits required pursuant to Commerce’s preliminary countervailing duty determination in August, which confirmed that biodiesel producers in Argentina and Indonesia have received massive subsidies. The NBB Fair Trade Coalition filed petitions to address a flood of subsidized and dumped imports from Argentina and Indonesia. Imports from the two countries surged by 464 percent from 2014 to 2016, taking 18.3 percentage points of market share from U.S. manufacturers. A final antidumping determination is due early next year, following a Commerce Department hearing. A final determination in the companion countervailing duty determination is due to be announced in early November, with a final determination by the International Trade Commission in connection with the countervailing duty case expected in December.