E.U. approves 10% duty on U.S. imports
Source: Amanda Peterka, E&E reporter • Posted: Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The Council of the European Union said it approved yesterday a duty that translates roughly to a $83.03-per-metric-ton tariff on all ethanol coming into the European Union from the United States.
The decision reached in Brussels is yet to be published in the European Union’s official journal.
U.S. ethanol groups immediately slammed the tariff, which came about as a result of a European Commission anti-dumping investigation on U.S. companies performed at the behest of the European Renewable Fuels Association, or ePURE. The group has claimed that American companies were taking the market and jobs away from European producers.
“This tariff is outrageous and based on absolutely no facts or evidence of harm. An extensive investigation was conducted and there was no proof to substantiate the European Union’s protectionist claims of dumping,” the Renewable Fuels Association and Growth Energy, two U.S. ethanol trade groups, said in a joint statement today. “Imposing a country wide anti-dumping tariff is unprecedented and unfounded.”
RFA and Growth Energy vowed to fight the duty, which has driven a wedge between the U.S. and E.U. ethanol industries (Greenwire, Feb. 18).
“This is blatant protectionism at its worst,” RFA and Growth Energy said. “This is absolutely not the final chapter. We will challenge this policy in every manner possible.”