Fueling Growth in the Biodiesel Industry

by Donnell Rehagen (National Biodiesel Board/Biodiesel Magazine) As we near the end of 2018, the biodiesel industry has seen some significant progress as we work towards sustainable industry growth. Today, biodiesel is creating an impact and presence in the current marketplace and is showing up as a leading player in the fuels industry.

The National Biodiesel Fair Trade Coalition’s trade petitions, filed in 2017, against Argentina and Indonesia have, in fact, leveled the playing field as we set out to do. With agreement from the International Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce that these countries were involved in subsidizing and dumping biodiesel into the U.S., the duties applied to those products have made their entry into the U.S. nearly disappear. The result is a domestic market that, in 2018, has seen growth in demand and improved margins.

Today, biodiesel is the No. 1 alternative fuel choice for fleets, according to the National Work Truck Association and American Transportation Research Institute 2018 Survey. With between 2.6 and 2.9 billion gallons of biodiesel consumed each of the past two years, biodiesel accounts for nearly 5 percent of the on-road diesel volumes. We also continue to see higher blends, B20 and above, gain greater market acceptance around the country.

Our nation’s attention to fossil fuels and their carbon emissions continues to grow as well. A recent life cycle analysis (LCA) published by Argonne National Laboratory, the USDA and others note that biodiesel could achieve up to a 72 percent reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Along with significant increases in on-road use, the industry is also seeing expansion in the Bioheat market.

This increased awareness has helped in our federal policy efforts by allowing us to build supporters on Capitol Hill from congressional districts that just a few years ago would have been ambivalent to biodiesel. READ MORE

Excerpt from Reuters: The U.S. decision to review its tariffs on Argentine biodiesel could mean a reversal of fortune for exporters whose shipments from the South American country have been practically nil, the biodiesel chamber of Argentina said on Thursday.

The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Wednesday there was “just cause” to review the taxes it applied at the end of 2017 to Argentine biodiesel, which cut off access to the main market for Argentina’s product at the time.

Wednesday’s announcement prompted enthusiasm from Argentine biofuel exporters whose shipments have slowed to a trickle since September as the European Union (EU), the new main destination for Argentine biofuel, also considers adding tariffs. READ MORE

Excerpt from GrainNet: The National Biodiesel Board’s Fair Trade Coalition urged Commerce to reject Argentina’s request and opposes Commerce’s initiation of the reviews, which could result in resetting the duty rates Commerce calculated only months ago.

NBB CEO Donnell Rehagen states, “The Commerce Department has no basis for initiating this unprecedented review.

"Commerce has established procedures for conducting reviews with extensive fact-finding for the very purpose of revisiting antidumping and countervailing duty rates but has never used “changed circumstances” reviews for these purposes.

"Commerce’s initiation of these reviews just months after finding that Argentina has engaged in unfair trade practices creates a great deal of uncertainty for our industry at a time when the positive results of the original cases are just beginning to be realized.

“The U.S. International Trade Commission unanimously determined that U.S. biodiesel producers were injured by biodiesel imports from Argentina, and Commerce confirmed that such harm resulted from massive subsidies provided by Argentina and huge margins of dumping by Argentina’s biodiesel industry.

"Once Commerce leveled the playing field, domestic biodiesel producers stepped up their efforts, put substantial under-utilized production capacity back to work, and boosted homegrown biodiesel production.

"In these circumstances, it is a complete mystery why Commerce would open a path to a resumption of unfairly traded imports.

"This action jeopardizes our industry’s progress and the American jobs our industry supports, and it places added pressure on our nation’s farmers who are already suffering from low commodity prices and uncertain trade conditions.”

John Heisdorffer, President of the American Soybean Association (ASA), added, “ASA does not see any change in circumstances that would prompt a change in the previous determination issued by the Department of Commerce and International Trade Administration on this matter.

"U.S. soybean farmers appreciate the Administration’s recognition that subsidized imports of biodiesel from Argentina distort markets and adversely impact U.S. producers and farmers.

"We are concerned the decision to review has the potential to disturb these well-founded determinations.”

The Commerce Department’s changed circumstances review process typically takes 270 days, meaning a final determination could come by August 2019. READ MORE