The European Biodiesel Board, an association of EU biodiesel producers, has reportedly said that it may seek legal action against what it sees to be unfair subsidies for US biofuel in the European market.
The European Biodiesel Board (EBB) has said that the price competition due to increasing sales of cheap US biodiesel with the help of subsidies has resulted in reduced margins for many biodiesel producers in most of the EU countries. The situation may even lead to stagnation or decline in EU biodiesel output this year, the EBB added.
Reuters cited the EBB as saying: This is why, unless the situation is solved very shortly by the US legislature, the EU biodiesel industry will initiate a comprehensive legal action against this unfair trade practice, in the form of a joint anti-dumping and anti-subsidy complaint, possibly supported by a WTO complaint.
While the US legislation allows biodiesel subsidy at the rate of up to $264 per cubic meter by adding a drop of mineral diesel to biodiesel, EBB said that, in the majority of the cases, B99 blends are sold in the European market as pure biodiesel at lower prices, revealed Reuters.