The U.S. Court of International Trade has upheld a Commerce Department determination requiring refiners to pay cash deposits on biodiesel from Argentina.
In 2018, after a coalition of groups led by the National Biodiesel Board brought a case arguing that “a flood of subsidized and dumped imports” were coming from Argentina, the agency imposed countervailing and antidumping duties.
Argentina requested a review in 2020, and Commerce found that there weren’t any “changed circumstances” that would warrant changes to U.S. duty rates.
The Government of Argentina and LDC Argentina S.A., one of the nation’s biodiesel processors and exporters, challenged the ruling in court, arguing that Commerce’s final results applied an impermissible statutory framework, were based on speculation and were unlawfully issued after the regulatory deadline.
“The court concludes that Commerce’s Final Results were supported by substantial evidence and not based on speculation,” Court of International Trade Judge Gary Katzmann wrote in his opinion on the case.
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The National Biodiesel Board praised the ruling in a release.
“NBB's Fair Trade Coalition and members are grateful that the Department of Commerce stood by U.S. biodiesel producers and made the right decisions to maintain fair trade conditions,” said Kurt Kovarik, NBB’s vice president of federal affairs.
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