Argentine exporters dismiss US biodiesel dumping claim

The head of Argentina's chamber of exporters (CERA) dismissed an antidumping claim filed by the US National Biodiesel Board (NBB) against Argentine biodiesel exporters as unfounded and without merit, state news service Télam reported.

The claim, which was filed last week with the US Department of Commerce and the International Trade Commission, alleges "that Argentine and Indonesian companies are violating trade laws by flooding the US market with dumped and subsidized biodiesel," according to an NBB statement.

In comments cited by Télam, CERA president Enrique Mantilla pointed to a decision by the World Trade Organization favoring Argentina in a similar dispute with the European Union as evidence that Argentine biodiesel exporters are not violating international trade law.

NBB also cited Argentina's antidumping dispute with the EU, but as evidence of a pattern of wrongdoing by the South American country.

"In 2013, the EU imposed 41.9-49.2% duties on Argentina and 8.8-23.3% duties on Indonesia," NBB said. "Just last year, Peru imposed both antidumping and countervailing duties on Argentine biodiesel."

According to CERA, the US imports 65% of its biodiesel from Argentina.

"Because of illegal trade activities, biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia surged by 464% from 2014 to 2016," NBB said. "That growth has taken 18.3 percentage points of market share from US manufacturers."

In the US, NBB alleged dumping margins of 23.3% for Argentina and 34% for Indonesia. Mantilla did not address these numbers specifically in the comments cited by Télam.