Boost for biofuels’ future
TEESSIDE’S biofuels industry was last night cheering an apparent victory in the bitterly fought campaign to stop heavily subsidised American “green” diesel flooding the UK market.
After months of lobbying, it emerged that the European Commission had heeded calls to hit US imports with hefty countervailing taxes, despite earlier fears that it would put it at loggerheads with the World Trade Organisation.
The news was leaked ahead of publication on Thursday of British trade commissioner Catherine Ashton’s proposed fix, which could see American producers hit by as much as $521 (£376)/tonne.
The measures, introduced under anti-dumping and anti-subsidy rules, would help restore the battered British industry, said Richard Nickels, chief executive of the Biofuels Corporation on Teesside - the only remaining biodiesel producer in the North-east.
Like many plants, it has been operating at well below capacity in response to artificially depressed prices.
“If you look at prices now, they are about $200 lower than the market would stick at (without US subsidies),” he said. “So one assumes that the biodiesel market will return to normality. As long as it’s a level playing field, we will turn up production.”
The taxes are expected to be imposed for four to six months while the Commission continues its investigation. If ratified by member states at the end of that period, they could be in place for up to five years.
MP Martin Callanan, who has led the anti-dumping campaign in Europe, said: “I am no fan of protectionism but these measures are necessary to restore balance. US producers have had it too easy for far too long while producers in our region have been hit hard.”
John Seymour, of supply-chain consortium North East Biofuels, said: “We are delighted. This is what the industry has been calling for.
“The European biodiesel industry has been haemorrhaging because it can’t compete. Europe is the biggest market for biodiesel because the US is mainly a petrol economy. Shippers have also made a fortune out of this.”
Ian Waller, from Stockton-based consultants Five Bar Gate, said B99 fuels (see panel) had been to blame for forcing the industry out of the North-east.
“This is not the answer to all the industry’s woes but it’s certainly great news. This resets the marketplace. We are anticipating B99 effectively being stopped. The effect from this should be to re-level the playing field.”
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