EU, Argentina File Appeals in Biodiesel WTO Dispute

The EU and Argentina have each appealed the findings of a WTO dispute panel in their row over biodiesel duties, with the case now set to go to the organisation’s highest court. Both appeal notices, circulated within the past fortnight, address different aspects of a recent ruling where they claim that the dispute panel erred. The original case ( DS473 ) was brought by Argentina to the WTO in late 2013, with the South American economy taking issue with anti-dumping measures imposed by the European Commission on imported biodiesel. A panel was established to hear the case in April 2014. (See Bridges Weekly, 16 January 2014 , 30 May 2013 , and 24 October 2013 ) “Dumping” in trade jargon refers to the practice of selling goods abroad at prices below their normal value. Under WTO rules, a member may impose anti-dumping duties to counter this practice, as long as it is also proven that domestic industry has been adversely affected as a result. Argentina is one of the world’s largest exporters of biodiesel, and has claimed that the anti-dumping measures have cost it US$1.6 billion in lost sales per year. This past March, the panel found that the challenged...