UK slams US biofuel subsidies
March 30, 2007
By From Reuters
London - Britain was looking for a way to tackle imports of biofuels from the US, which it believes will undermine the commercial case for European production, UK transport minister Stephen Ladyman said.
"People who are being subsidised to produce renewable fuels in the US are now planning to export that fuel to Europe, where they hope to get a second subsidy when it is sold in Europe," Ladyman told a conference organised by the Environmental Industries Commission, a biofuels industry lobby group.
"That is undermining the commercial case for investment in Europe. It is one of the things that we have got to try and sort out, " Ladyman said.
The US bioethanol industry has grown rapidly, boosted by strong government support motivated by a desire for energy security.
European biodiesel makers have made the same complaint to Brussels: that US biodiesel sales in the EU are rising with the help of unfair subsidies.
The UK offers tax incentives for motor fuels containing biofuels, as part of its effort to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and global warming. The incentive is provided to both domestically produced and imported biofuels.
Bioethanol, which can be blended with petrol, is made from grains or sugar crops, while biodiesel is made from plant oils. The US and Brazil are the leading producers.
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