NBB files “critical circumstances” allegation over Argentine biodiesel imports

In Washington, The National Biodiesel Board Fair Trade Coalition has filed a new allegation with the U.S. Department of Commerce claiming that critical circumstances exist with respect to imports of biodiesel from Argentina. The “critical circumstances” provision in antidumping and countervailing duties laws allows for the imposition of duties on imports that enter the U.S. prior to preliminary determinations of subsidization and dumping.  

Critical circumstances protections can provide relief in the form of retroactive duties from the effects of a surge in shipments. These protections exist to deter importers from stockpiling and circumventing the antidumping and countervailing duty laws by making massive shipments immediately after the filing of a petition and before relief is typically imposed. 

New data have come to the NBB Fair Trade Coalition’s attention, which provides a reasonable basis to believe or suspect that critical circumstances exist with respect to dumped and subsidized imports of biodiesel from Argentina. The coalition found that imports of biodiesel from Argentina jumped 144.5 percent since the filing of the antidumping and countervailing duty petitions, as compared to the period prior to the filings.