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Indonesia to challenge US anti-dumping duty on biodiesel
Indonesia is seeking to challenge a preliminary antidumping duty imposed by the United States on its palm oil biodiesel in a move to maintain access to the world’s largest energy market
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ndonesia is seeking to challenge a preliminary antidumping duty imposed by the United States on its palm oil biodiesel in a move to maintain access to the world’s largest energy market.
On Monday the US Commerce Department began levying a 50.71 percent duty on Indonesian biodiesel following its initial finding that the product had been sold at unfair prices and hurt US producers. The department also set similar duties on soybean-based biodiesel from Argentina.
The Trade Ministry’s foreign trade director general Oke Nurwan said on Tuesday that Indonesia would take issue with the US and file its own price calculations.
The newly passed antidumping duty was much higher than the 28.1 percent dumping margin proposed initially by the US, he added.
“We will fight to oppose the US dumping accusation,” Oke said in a text message.
He added that trade officials would soon meet exporters affected by the measure to discuss the matter.
The US Commerce Department’s measure is a follow up to a petition lodged in March by the US National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition, which unites the NBB and 15 biodiesel producers.
Indonesia’s biodiesel has gained ground in the US in recent years as the latter has intensified its efforts to promote renewable energy sources.
US biodiesel imports from Indonesia are valued at US$268 million last year, according to the government agency.
Following the imposition of the preliminary antidumping duty, expected to ease the claimed injury suffered by US producers while the investigation is underway, US Customs and Border Protection will start cash collection from Indonesian producers, including PT Wilmar International Ltd and PT Musim Mas, as well as Argentinian exporters.
Indonesia’s Biofuel Producers Association (Aprobi) chairman Paulus Tjakrawan said the group would gather its members next week to discuss the next step it would take following the US move.
It would also anticipate the result of the US investigation and be prepared to take necessary actions, including filing an appeal at the US Court of International Trade or the World Trade Organization (WTO), he added.
“We will need to agree unanimously on what measures [should be taken] in a meeting next week,” Paulus said. The US Commerce Department is scheduled to announce the final result of its antidumping probe on Jan. 3.
US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement on Monday that the imposition of the punitive tariffs on Indonesia’s and Argentina’s biodiesel showed the US commitment to defend its interests.
“The Trump Administration is committed to both free and fair trade and will defend American workers against unfair trade practices,” he said. “We […] remain optimistic that a negotiated solution can be reached both with Argentina and with Indonesia.”
The move is the latest blow that Indonesian biodiesel has had to endure. The European Union has imposed antidumping duties on the product since November 2013.
