The European Union on Wednesday (December 20) informed that they will begin an anti-dumping investigation into biodiesel imports from China, which the EU industry said had led to a reduction in production in EU member states.
In August, the European Union began investigating whether biodiesel from Indonesia was imported through China and the United Kingdom to circumvent EU tariffs, Reuters reported.
The latest round of investigations, sparked by complaints from producers' organisations, the European Biodiesel Board (EBB), will cover transactions between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023. The investigation will last up to 14 months, with the possibility of interim tariffs being imposed within eight months.
"EU producers have submitted evidence that biodiesel imports from China are being imported into the EU at artificially low prices, and say these imports have seriously harmed their industry because they cannot compete with such a low price," the European Commission said in a statement. ”
The Chinese Mission to the EU and the China Chamber of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
China is the EU's largest exporter of biodiesel in 2023, the European Biodiesel Commission said in a separate statement. "China's dumping of imports during the year led to the collapse of the EU market, with several member states closing production bases. ”
In addition to the possibility of Indonesian biodiesel transiting other countries to import into the EU, there is also a structural imbalance with China's biodiesel**, which does not reflect the fact that most goods are classified as high-grade or waste-based biofuels, the European Biodiesel Commission said.
In another ** dispute with Beijing, the European Commission launched a countervailing investigation into China's EV imports in September, saying Chinese products benefited from state subsidies. China has criticized the EU investigation, calling it "naked protectionism."