Indecopi renewed the anti-dumping and countervailing duties on Argentine biodiesel for 5 years

The National Institute for the Defense of Competition and the Protection of Intellectual Property (Indecopi) reported that after 13 months of investigations, in October 2021 it was decided to renew for a period of 5 additional years the anti-dumping and countervailing duties on the imports of biodiesel from Argentina.

This in order to avoid the repetition of the significant damage generated to the domestic industry due to the entry of the referred product at dumped and subsidized prices, in accordance with the provisions of the Anti-Dumping Agreement and the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures. of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and national regulations.

He recalled that the decision to renew the antidumping and countervailing duties on Argentine biodiesel imports that were imposed in 2016, began in September 2020.

This measure was adopted when it was verified that the Argentine government still establishes the prices with which biodiesel producers sell said fuel to Argentine refineries to make mixtures with diesel, so its value was not determined through the free interaction of the supply. and demand.

In addition, it was taken into consideration that Argentina maintained a high export capacity, being the second world supplier of biodiesel, and that the industry registered a freely available capacity that represented 8.5 times the Peruvian demand for biodiesel, and it is probable that said product will re-enter to Peru registering the lowest prices in the market in case the current measures were abolished.

The investigations that began in September 2020 were published in the official newspaper El Peruano and were carried out under the requirements of national regulations and the WTO, which implied a public legal process summoning all parties involved to participate in the proceedings, with the possibility of presenting briefs and evidence, as well as intervening in public hearings before the CBD.

This enabled the active participation of national biodiesel producers (such as Heaven Petroleum Operators SA and Industrias del Espino SA), as well as national importers, Argentine exporters of biodiesel and government officials of the Argentine Republic, in defense of your legitimate interests.

Indecopi reported that the Argentine Chamber of Biofuels (CARBIO) challenged the decisions of the CDB before the hierarchical authority, which is why the respective administrative files have been submitted to the Indecopi Court on December 22, for review in second instance.

As reported at the time, the decision adopted by the CBD has a positive impact on the biodiesel production chain, made up of national producers and also farmers who provide the raw materials with which said biofuel is produced, among them, the palm oil, which is produced in the country’s jungle.

This, considering that, in Peru, the Law for the Promotion of the Biofuels Market (Law No. 28054), promotes the development of the biofuels market on the basis of free competition and free access to economic activity, in order to diversify the fuel market, promote agricultural and agroindustrial development, generate employment, reduce environmental pollution and offer an alternative market in the fight against drugs.