US wants to hit back over EC ethanol tax

The five year duty imposed on US ethanol exported to the European Commission needs to be challenged, according to a group of US senators.

After an anti-dumping investigation by the EC which began over a year and a half ago, it imposed a €110 ($83.03) per tonne tariff on US ethanol that kicked in three months ago.

Fourteen representatives, a mixture of republicans and democrats across eight states, have asked the acting US trade representative and acting secretary of commerce to consider a World Trade Organisation (WTO).

In a joint statement from the Renewable Fuels Association and ethanol support group Growth Energy claiming ‘the EU Commission failed to make any particular finding of dumping by any producer or marketer investigated in connection with the case’.

‘If allowed to stand, this rule would set a dangerous precedent for trade and trade remedies in advance of important trade talks between the US and the EU, and furthermore will dramatically change the boundaries and limits of international anti-dumping law,’ the statement further read.