"Better late than never" has to be the reaction to recent news that Brussels is slapping punitive countervailing duties on imports of US biodiesel which have been dumped on the EU market for over two years.
The so-called "splash and dash" scheme has been a cunning one. By adding just a "splash" of mineral diesel to biodiesel, US companies have been able to claim up to $300/t in tax credits from the government. This so called B99 biodiesel, (99% biodiesel, 1% mineral diesel), has then been eligible for export, picking up further subsidies on arrival in the EU.
To make matters even worse, the scam was open to biodiesel made in places like Indonesia and Argentina, which was shipped to the US, blended with mineral diesel, and then moved on to the EU market. This practice, at least, was outlawed by Congress last October.
But the bulk of the trade has been in the form of US-produced biodiesel from companies like Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill, which have large-scale outlets within the EU.
It is estimated that, since the scam was introduced in early 2007, sales of US biodiesel to the EU have grown from less than 100,000t a year to over 1.5m tonnes in 2008. That is almost 20% of the market in just two years.
This is hardly surprising when....
according to the European Biodiesel Board, the cost of subsidised US biodiesel delivered to the EU is often less than the cost of the vegetable oil needed by EU manufacturers as a raw material.
The damage has been considerable, with many small operators forced out of business, or at least having to operate at less than full capacity.
But there has been a downside for the Americans too. The tax break was originally introduced by former president George W Bush to boost the US biofuel sector and so reduce the country's dependence on imported oil.
Ironically, it is now estimated that as much as 80% of US biodiesel is being exported, most of it to the EU.
Like so many of George W's grand schemes, the consequences have been somewhat different to those that were originally intended!
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