UK proposes new countervailing duties on US renewable diesel

The U.K. Trade Remedies Authority announced Nov. 28 that it has published its statement of essential facts on imports of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO), also known as renewable diesel, from the U.S.   

The investigation, launched March 17, specifically covers renewable diesel.  

Following evidence that subsidized imports are causing material injury to U.K. producers, TRA said its statement of essential facts sets out its intended final recommendation for a fixed duty measure, with proposed countervailing duties of between £257.80 and £303.56 (USD$340.64 and USD$401.11) per metric ton.  

Interested parties are invited to comment on the initial findings via the Trade Remedies Service by Dec. 19.   

Countervailing duties are one of three trade remedy tools used to address goods that are being unfairly subsidized by overseas governments and causing injury to U.K. industry. 

Separately, TRA has terminated its parallel investigation into dumped imports of HVO from the U.S. due to a lack of significant evidence of dumping.  

TRA will propose terminating a dumping or subsidy investigation if, at any stage during the investigation, it finds that the dumping margin or subsidy amount for all relevant goods is below de minimis levels.  

It will publish a notice to explain why the investigation has been terminated and notify the secretary of state and interested parties accordingly. 

Following the verification and analysis of exporter data, TRA determined that all three U.S. exporters that took part in the case presented a negative dumping margin.  

Therefore, there was no significant evidence of dumping by U.S. exporters Diamond Green Diesel, St Bernard Renewables and Phillips 66.