Argentina clinches deal to resume biodiesel exports to EU

The deal establishes price and volume limits to be announced next month, the ministry said in a statement. The deal marks the end of a long trade dispute and could help bolster Argentina’s critical soybean sector. Argentina is the world’s top producer of soyoil, the main ingredient used to make biodiesel.

Earlier on Wednesday, a European Commission source told Reuters that EU countries backed a proposal to impose anti-subsidy duties on Argentine biodiesel imports, with an exemption for producers that agree to a minimum price.

Argentina celebrated the deal as a victory for the country’s biofuels sector. A statement from the foreign ministry said it expected Europe to ratify and settle on the details of the agreement over the days ahead.

Argentina and the EU reached an agreement to end a dispute over exports of biodiesel from the South American country to the bloc, the Argentine ministry of foreign affairs said on Wednesday (30 January).

The deal establishes price and volume limits to be announced next month, the ministry said in a statement. The deal marks the end of a long trade dispute and could help bolster Argentina’s critical soybean sector. Argentina is the world’s top producer of soyoil, the main ingredient used to make biodiesel.

Earlier on Wednesday, a European Commission source told Reuters that EU countries backed a proposal to impose anti-subsidy duties on Argentine biodiesel imports, with an exemption for producers that agree to a minimum price.

Argentina celebrated the deal as a victory for the country’s biofuels sector. A statement from the foreign ministry said it expected Europe to ratify and settle on the details of the agreement over the days ahead.

It said the deal meant Argentine exporters would be allowed to export up to about 1.2 million tonnes of biodiesel per year without paying duties.

The scheme, with a minimum price option, would mirror that used to allow Chinese solar panel producers to export to the bloc after a major dispute over alleged dumping that threatened to spiral into a trade war.

For Argentine biodiesel, the commission has proposed duties of between 25% and 33.4% depending on the companies, a document seen by Reuters in December showed.

Exporters include the Argentine arms of Bunge Ltd, Cargill Inc and Louis Dreyfus Corp, as well as Molinos Rio de la Plata SA.