EU Imposes Duties On US Biodiesel

After a year of dithering the EU has finally slapped import duties on US biodiesel in an attempt to prevent the ludicrous "splash and dash" practice, and halt the dumping of biodiesel on the European market by the US.

EU diplomats voted last weeky to place provisional import duties on US biodiesel and the decision has been formally announced today in the announcement came in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The splash and dash scam involves shipping biodiesel from Europe to the US where a "splash" of mineral-derived diesel is added, where the entire consignment then qualifies for a US subsidy. The fuel is then shipped back and sold below European prices.

Splash and dash is not illegal but makes a mockery of the environmental reasons behind the introduction of biofuels at the forecourt. It causes unnecessary shipping, increasing emissions of greenhouse gases whilst undermining European producers.