Transatlantic Economic Council to develop proposed standards for biofuels trade in November; to address subsidies, exports

The new Transatlantic Economic Council (TEC), which meets in Washington in November, is expected to propose definitive standards for biofuels trade. Recently, numerous European biodiesel producers have reduced capacity or shut down due to competition from subsidized soybean-based biodiesel from the United States. The European Biodiesel Board points out that biodiesel producers in the US receive a subsidy of up to $300 per ton, and that as a result, US producers can export to Europe for less than the cost that Europeans pay for raw materials.

Last month D1 Oils reduced its planned capacity expansion in the UK to 320,000 tonnes in 2008, and the EBB is threatening a WTO action for dumping.  This week, Petrotec announced it was halting biodiesel production temporarily because market prices do not allow the company to cover production costs. The company produces about 30 Mgy of biodiesel at Borken using waste oils.

US exports to the EU have grown from 90,000 tonnes in 2006 to 700,000 tonnes so far this year.

Free Subscription to the Daily Biofuels Digest e-newsletter

Related Stories

Transatlantic Economic Council meets in Washington; to develop common biofuel standards between US and EU

The Transatlantic Economic Council has its initial meeting today in Washington DC. The Council was formed earlier this year by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and US President George Bush to establish...

European Commission reportedly considering biofuel crop subsidy cut

The European Commission (EC) is planning to cut biofuels crop subsidies, according to Sega. The program of 45 euro per hectare subsidies was initiated when 310,000 hectares had been devoted to biofuel...

US GAO warns that trade chaos will ensue unless global standards for biofuels are developed

In Washington, the Government Accountability Office said that biofuels trade would decline and energy prices would climb unless global standards for biofuels are developed. The GAO said that “t...

US and EU block Brazilian proposal to eliminate ethanol tariffs through World Trade Organization action

The United States and European Union have blocked a Brazilian proposal to include biofuels among "environmental goods" scheduled for tariff reduction or elimination in the next world trade treaty. The...

US, Brazil, EU agree on Roadmap to common biofuels certification standards

The United States, Brazil and the European Union (EU) released their “White Paper on Internationally Compatible Biofuels Standards” that will pave the way towards a unified international s...

EU to impose tariff on US biodiesel in 2008, industry exec says

In England, chief executive officer of Argent Energy told the Reuters Global Agriculture and Biofuel Summit said that the EU is likely to impose an import duty on US biodiesel this year. The move com...