EU finalizes antidumping duties on biofuels, starts tracking SAF imports

The European Commission has finalized antidumping duties on Chinese imports of biodiesel and renewable diesel and started tracking imports of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) in response to concern over competition from cheap imports.

The EU had previously imposed provisional antidumping measures on Chinese producers in August, and confirmed new definitive measures Feb. 10, adjusting tariffs lower for all suppliers from earlier ones.

“The publication of the Regulation imposing definitive AD duties on [hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO)] and FAME from China marks the end of a two-year long process,” Xavier Noyon, Secretary General of the European Biodiesel Board, that initiated the proceedings which resulted in the final antidumping duties, said in a statement Feb. 11.

Chinese producers are now subject to an anti-dumping duty of 35.6% with certain distinctions: a lower duty of 21.7% for 40 companies that cooperated with the EU investigation, and reduced rates of 10% for EcoCeres Group companies and 23.4% for Zhuoyue Group companies, EU material showed.

“The duties and the guarantees they bring are good news for the European biodiesel industry, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” Noyon said. While SAF is not included in the scope of the duties, the European Commission is clearly aware of this threat, he added.

The EU has introduced six new ten-digit import codes for SAF.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné identified cheap SAF imports as a key roadblock to European supply growth, calling on EU regulators in January to support premium prices for European-made material over rival producers in China.

In material accompanying the publication of the final antidumping measures Feb. 10, the EU named reasons put forward by Neste, a complainant following provisional anti-dumping duties against Chinese biodiesel and HVO imports, in support of extending antidumping duties to SAF.

Chief among these was the optionality for Chinese producers to utilize 100% of their HVO production capacity to produce HEFA-SAF, would allegedly result in a flood of Chinese SAF replacing HVO, which is now subject to antidumping duties, for the purpose of the road blending mandates.

High costs associated with SAF have proved a key barrier to wider uptake, with supplies currently pricing at $1,835.25/mt, a 141% premium to conventional jet fuel, according to Feb. 10 assessments by Platts, a part of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Prolonged low prices for biodiesel

In December 2023, the EC initiated an anti-dumping investigation with regard to imports of biodiesel and HVO originating in China. This followed a complaint lodged in the November of that year by the EBB. In August 2024 the EC imposed provisional anti-dumping tariffs on imported biodiesel and HVO from China.

There were concerns among European producers that Chinese barrels with false certification were making their way to the EU and undercutting more rigorously certified domestic producers.

Platts assessed the premium of used cooking oil methyl ester, that complies with the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, in the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp area on a FOB basis over ICE Gasoil futures at $694/mt Feb. 10.

Platts assessed it at an average of $1,046.17/mt from the start of the assessment in March 2020 until June 2022, the period which some producers questioned. Since then, the premium has averaged $656/mt.

Tags: China, EU