Illinois-Based Biodiesel Producer Faces New EU Tarrifs

By Kevin Robinson in News on Mar 4, 2009 8:00PM

On Tuesday a European Union trade committee approved temporary anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties on imports of biodiesel from the United States. One of the companies affected by this decision is Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), which is headquartered in Decatur, Illinois. ADM will face a tariff of 26 euros (about $32) per 100 kg of biodiesel imported, beginning March 13. The tariffs are the latest salvo in an ongoing trade dispute that has been simmering between Brussels and Washington. "If ... these duties will be imposed, then this proves our complaint was well founded," Raffaello Garofalo, secretary general of the European Biodiesel Board, told Reuters. "This will re-establish a level playing field and put an end to unacceptable and artificial prices created by U.S. biodiesel producers."

Earlier this year the EU announced its opposition to the so-called "Buy American" clause in the economic recovery bill that was signed into law last year. The massive spending bill, designed to kick-start the U.S. economy by pumping billions of dollars into the national economy through tax cuts and construction projects requires the use of American manufactured iron and steel products in construction projects that use recovery funds. Critics of biodiesel, including prominent scientists and economists, argue that production of biofuels converts arable land from food to fuel production, while pushing food prices on the global market higher.