Vierhout Addresses Outcome of Anti-Dumping, Anti-Subsidy Cases
by Holly Jessen (Ethanol Producer Magazine) Rob Vierhout, secretary general of ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association, spoke to Ethanol Producer Magazine about the recent European Union decision to impose an $83.03 per metric ton tariff on imported U.S. ethanol.
…Yes, we are happy with the duty but it could have been much higher if one looks at the injury that was brought upon the EU producers. We had to close down some plants and reduce output in others. In view of the injury found we think that the duty applied is really the minimum imaginable.
…Our main concern right now is the risk that the European market will be halved. The recent European Commission proposal to cap 1G biofuels [conventional biofuels made from food crops, including sugarcane ethanol] to 5 percent. If adopted it would have major implications for the European ethanol industry. The impact will be far worse than the imports we have had from the U.S.A. We have already enough production capacity in place to cover 6 percent of the expected 2020 demand. So, if we have to cut down to 5 percent and adding to that the imports the situation would be dramatic. We have therefore called upon the EU decision makers to take up in the law a specific target for renewable energy in gasoline which should be 8 percent to be filled with conventional ethanol reserving at least an additional 2 percent for cellulosic ethanol.
… I think that much will depend on who the E15 market in the U.S.A. will develop. We truly hope that this market will develop well. Not just because we would like to avoid imports but more importantly because it will show EU regulators that driving on E15 can be done. It will also depend on how other traditional export markets like Brazil and Canada will develop and whether there is arbitrage with Europe or not. But obviously: less imports mean better prices in the EU market. READ MORE and MORE
