BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission on Tuesday imposed countervailing duties of 8% to 18% on imports of subsidised biodiesel from Indonesia, saying the move aimed to restore a level playing field for European Union producers.
"The new import duties are imposed on a provisional basis and the investigation will continue with a possibility to impose definitive measures by mid-December 2019," the EU executive said in a statement.
Last week Indonesia's trade minister said he would recommend to an inter-ministerial team a 20%-25% tariff on EU dairy products in response to the EU targeting the country's biodiesel, adding that he had asked dairy product importers to find sources of supply outside the 28-nation bloc.
The EU duties are another blow to Indonesian biodiesel producers after the bloc said in March that palm oil should be phased out of renewable transportation fuels due to palm plantations' contribution to deforestation.
The European Commission, which coordinates trade policy for the EU, launched an anti-subsidy investigation in December following a complaint by the European Biodiesel Board.
It said its investigation showed that Indonesian biodiesel producers benefit from grants, tax benefits and access to raw materials below market prices.
The EU biodiesel market is worth an estimated 9 billion euros a year, with imports from Indonesia of reaching some 400 million euros, it said.
(Reporting by John Chalmers; editing by David Evans)
