The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition has filed a new allegation with the U.S. Department of Commerce claiming that “critical circumstances” exist with respect to imports of biodiesel from Argentina. The “critical circumstances” provision in antidumping and countervailing duties laws allows for the imposition of duties on imports that enter the United States prior to preliminary determinations of subsidization and dumping.

The coalition found that imports of biodiesel from Argentina jumped 144.5 percent since the filing of the antidumping and countervailing duty petitions, as compared to the period prior to the filings.

“When we see biodiesel from Argentina selling at a discount to the market price of soyoil—the main input into biodiesel—we know we are facing dumped pricing,” said Paul Soanes, CEO and President of Renewable Biofuels (RBF) in Texas. “The United States is a key market for these exporters, and without a remedy, these unfairly traded imports are likely to continue unabated.”

To determine critical circumstances, the Commerce Department must find that there are “massive” imports over a relatively short period of time, and that other statutory criteria are met, including whether the imports benefit from illegal subsidies. The NBB Fair Trade Coalition’s petition alleges that each condition has been met.

Earlier this year, the NBB Fair Trade Coalition filed petitions with the Commerce Department and the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), which allege that significant increases in subsidized and dumped biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia have injured U.S. producers, including by taking market share away from U.S. manufacturers and suffocating U.S. investment activity.