EU imposes fees on Indonesian biodiesel

The European Commission Tuesday announced that it is imposing duties of 8% to 18% on subsidized biodiesel from Indonesia.

The measure aims to restore a levelplaying field for EU biodiesel producers, it said in a press release.

The EU’s executive body said that its indepth investigation found that Indonesian biodiesel producers benefit from grants, tax benefits and access to raw materials below market prices.

“This inflicts a threat of economic damage to EU producers. The new import duties are imposed on a provisional basis and the investigation will continue with a possibility to impose definitive measures by mid-December 2019,” it said.

While the predominant raw material for biodiesel production in Indonesia is palm oil, the focus of the investigation is on the possible subsidisation of biodiesel production, irrespective of the raw material used, it noted.

The EU biodiesel market is worth an estimated 9 billion euro ($10 billion) a year, with imports from Indonesia of reaching some 400 million euro ($448 million) .

On December 6, 2018, the European Commission initiated an anti-subsidy investigation with regard to imports into the European Union of biodiesel originating in Indonesia on protection against subsidised imports from countries not member of the European Union.

The Commission initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged on Oct 22, 2018 by the European Biodiesel Board. (KUNA)