by Kim Chipman, Tarso Veloso, and Michael Hirtzer (Bloomberg) ... One of the biggest concerns is that China shippers are adding UCO to fresh palm oil. Palm, the world’s most widely used vegetable oil, is a bane to environmentalists and many countries because the industry is a key driver of deforestation in places like Indonesia as well as tied to labor abuses.
The Environmental Protection Agency has had discussions with industry stakeholders, including the National Oilseed Processors Association, about concerns over increased imports of UCO and other food wastes, according to agency spokesman Nick Conger. He said the EPA is aware of the increased imports and that will be a factor in establishing volumes for and implementing the Renewable Fuel Standard Program, a law that mandates how much biofuel must be blended into the country’s fuel supply each year.
Under RFS, producers using UCO or animal waste such as beef tallow are required to keep records that vow the ingredients meet the legal definition of “renewable biomass” as well as describe the ingredient and identify the process used to obtain it.
“We are concerned that unless EPA and other agencies get a handle on this pretty quickly, it could potentially undermine the integrity of the Renewable Fuel Standard,” Geoff Cooper, chief executive officer of Renewable Fuels Association, said in an interview.
...
Clean Fuels Alliance America, which represents renewable diesel and sustainable jet fuel producers, has been directed by its board to look into the surge in UCO from China and the possibility of fraudulent gallons coming into the US.
“Our goal is to protect our members and combat any unfair trade that we find,” said Paul Winters, director of public affairs and federal communications. “We aren’t assuming practices are unfair just because there’s more trade,” he said, but the alliance wants to make sure home-grown feedstocks aren’t facing unfair competition from imports.
The surge in UCO imports is also a top issue for NOPA, the trade group representing US seed processing industries for soybeans, canola and other crops. CEO Kailee Tkacz Buller said the group has had talks with federal lawmakers and agencies including the EPA and US Department of Agriculture.
Asia is by far the world’s biggest UCO supplier, led by China. The European Union initiated a probe into Asian imports last year at the request of European biodiesel producers, but the request was dropped. While the producers didn’t explicitly provide a reason for the change, they noted that biodiesel shipments to the EU from China’s Hainan Island — a green-fuel hot spot — immediately stopped after the start of the investigation.
“There is plenty of suspicion and lots of stories and anecdotes floating around,” said Cooper. “It appears to be one of the worst kept secrets out there that this is happening.” READ MORE
Related articles
- Suspicious China cooking oil is hurting US biofuels business (The Business Times)
- Suspicious Chinese Frying Oil Hurting US Biofuels Business (Transport Topics)
- Flood of China Used Cooking Oil Spurs Call to Hike US Levies: Soybean group says imports from China are threat to US growers; Biden to increase levies on range of China products this week (Bloomberg)
- Suspicions of Fake China Cooking Oil Alarm US Biofuel Industry (Bloomberg)
- Biden’s Plan to Hit China With More Tariffs Is Mostly Symbolic (Bloomberg)
- Biden hiking tariffs on Chinese EVs, solar cells, steel, aluminum — adding to tensions with Beijing (Associated Press)
- RFA PRAISES BIDEN ADMIN’S TARIFF INCREASE ON CHINESE EVS (Brownfield Ag News)
- Soy oil plunges as Chinese feedstocks elude US tariff hikes (Bloomberg)
- GRASSLEY CONCERNED CHINA TARIFF RETALIATION WILL INCLUDE U.S. AG (Brownfield Ag News; includes AUDIO)
- DC slammed Trump’s tariffs. Biden’s decision to keep them draws a very different reaction. The response offers yet another reminder of just how much the U.S. political consensus has shifted against free trade. (Politico Pro)
- U.S. Biofuels Maker Defends UCO From China (AgWeb)
- U.S. Imposes Sweeping Tariffs on Chinese Tech Imports: Solar Cells, Batteries, EVs, and More (Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton)
- Sen. Chuck Grassley Pushes Back on Tariffs, GREET Model (AgWeb; includes AUDIO)
- US Biofuel Markets Are in Turmoil Over Imports From China: A surge in used cooking oil from overseas is pitting American farmers against green-fuel producers. (Bloomberg)
Excerpt from Bloomberg: A group that represents the biggest US soybean processors, including Cargill Inc., Bunge Global SA and Archer-Daniels-Midland Co., wants the levies to be higher than the current 15.5% rate, according to a notice the National Oilseed Processors Association, or NOPA, sent to its members over the weekend that was seen by Bloomberg.
NOPA Chief Executive Officer Kailee Tkacz Buller said the memo was sent in response to rumors of possible additional tariffs being applied on used cooking oil. Association members support a boost on par with other clean energy sources, such as electric vehicles and solar, to level the playing field, Buller said in an email.
Soybean crushers worry a flood of used cooking oil imports from China is weakening demand for US crop-based ingredients that can be used to make renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. There’s also widespread, unconfirmed speculation the used oil from Asia may not be authentic and instead is mixed with fresh vegetable oils, such as palm, potentially distorting commodity values and undermining US biofuel laws.
China’s exports to the US of processed animal and vegetable fats and oils — a category that includes used cooking oil — reached $201 million in the first three months of this year, versus $770 million in the whole of 2023, Chinese customs figures compiled by Bloomberg show. That compares to about $47 million worth of shipments in 2022 from April onward, when the data begins.
Soy oil values are down so far this year, though futures in Chicago have seen an uptick in the last couple of trading days as commodities traders await tariff news. Biden on Tuesday is expected to unveil an increase in some levies first imposed under former President Donald Trump. It’s not known if the announcement will include used cooking oil.
White House officials declined to comment..
Tariffs on used cooking oil would add to other incoming US trade measures against Chinese goods. Biden will quadruple tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and sharply increase levies for other key industries, Bloomberg News reported this week. Semiconductors have been another key battleground.
The 2024 presidential race looms large over the moves: Biden is trying to crack down on China and differentiate himself from Trump.
...
The increased imports also jeopardize plans to ramp up US crushing capacity amid a flurry of government incentives aimed at making lower-carbon fuels to help fight climate change. READ MORE
Excerpt from Associated Press: The tensions go far beyond a trade dispute to deeper questions about who leads the world economy as a seemingly indispensable nation. China’s policies could make the world more dependent on its factories, possibly giving it greater leverage in geopolitics. At the same time, the United States says it’s seeking for countries to operate by the same standards so competition can be fair. READ MORE
Excerpt from Brownfield Ag News: Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, says the increase will also impact advanced batteries and solar cells. He tells Brownfield it’s a positive move for the US biofuels industry.
“Hopefully this signals more openness on the part of the Biden administration to look to biofuels like ethanol and other renewable fuels to help achieve the goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change.”
Cooper says there are some concerns China will look to retaliate. “Obviously, China is an important and large market for many US products, including agricultural products,” Cooper said. “There again, we’ve not been able to export ethanol to China, or distillers grains for that matter, for a number of years because of protectionist barriers that that country has in place.”
The White House says the tariffs will be rolled out over the next three years. READ MORE
Excerpt from AgWeb/Pro Farmer: Darling Ingredients Inc., a major U.S. producer of renewable diesel, defended imports of used cooking oil (UCO) as a feedstock to produce biofuels. An increase in UCO shipments from China has stirred speculation that some imports may not be authentic and instead are mixed with fresh vegetable oils, potentially undermining U.S. biofuel laws.
Chinese imports are “a legitimate source of used cooking oil,” Darling Chief Executive Officer Randall Stuewe said, noting that there are 12.6 million restaurants in China and only 700,000 in the United States. “That doesn’t mean there aren’t some bad actors out there, but at the end of the day there are legitimate suppliers,” Stuewe said at the BMO Global Farm to Market conference in New York.
Darling, a food ingredient seller, produces renewable diesel through its Diamond Green Diesel partnership with Valero Energy Corp. Stuewe noted Diamond Green’s first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) plant under construction in Port Arthur, Texas, is close to being completed. He didn’t provide projected date for starting SAF production at the plant. READ MORE
Excerpt from Bloomberg: Now, some agriculture groups are calling for government action, including higher tariffs, to curb the wave of shipments.
But fuel makers warn of government overreach that would likely crimp already tight supplies of low-carbon feedstocks at a crucial time for the industry.
Measures such as tariffs would be “short-sighted” and amount to playing “protective politics,” said Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association. It’s better to “allow the feedstocks to move around the world where they can best be used.”
...
It’s a classic faceoff between commodity producers and raw-material buyers, and adds to deep divisions over jet-fuel mandates, palm oil supply and other thorny issues debated this week at multiple industry gatherings.
Biofuel makers and feedstock providers also are awaiting details on a new production tax credit set to kick in next year. Trade groups ranging from aviation to renewable gas producers wrote this week to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, urging her to give guidance.
Regulatory murkiness and global competition are among reasons why US bio-based diesel is poised to face its biggest test since the industry first took shape three decades ago, according to Tore Alden of cross-commodity price reporting agency Fastmarkets.
“Secure your feedstock supply and secure it now,” Alden said at a conference held by his firm in Chicago this week. “The next three to five years are going to be different. Challenging.” READ MORE
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