Canada Border Services Agency launches investigations into alleged dumping, subsidizing of renewable diesel from US

The Canada Border Services Agency announced March 6 that it is initiating investigations to determine whether imports of renewable diesel from the United States are being dumped and subsidized.

These practices can harm Canadian industries by undercutting Canadian prices, which undermines fair competition, CBSA said.

The CBSA is investigating because of a complaint filed with it by Tidewater Renewables Ltd.

Tidewater alleges that as a result of an increase in the volume of the dumped and subsidized imports from the U.S., they have suffered material injury in the form of lost market share, lost sales, price undercutting, price depression, reduced profitability and negative impact on cash flow, return on investment and ability to raise capital.

Tidewater said its management anticipates that provisional duties will be imposed at the Canada-U.S. border within 90 days.

The CBSA said both it and the Canadian International Trade Tribunal play a role in the investigations.

The CITT will begin a preliminary inquiry to determine whether the imports are harming Canadian producers and will issue a decision by May 5.

Concurrently, the CBSA will investigate whether the imports are being sold in Canada at unfair prices and/or are being subsidized and will make preliminary decisions by June 4.

Tidewater noted that final duties, which would be in place for five years and can be renewed every five years thereafter, could be imposed by September following a ruling by CITT. 

The company said if final duties are imposed at the levels expected by its management, valued between 50 Canadian cents and 80 Canadian cents per liter of renewable diesel imported from the United States, these duties would support long-term market stability for its renewable diesel production and related emission credits.

Neither the complaint nor the investigation is related to the ongoing trade dispute between the United States and Canada, Tidewater added.

The complaint was filed prior to President Trump taking office and the imposition of tariffs by each country.

Therefore, any countervailing (antisubsidy) and antidumping duties imposed in connection with the investigation would apply in addition to any tariffs imposed by Canada in response to trade actions taken by the United States, Tidewater said.

“Tidewater Renewables supports free and fair trade in Canada’s renewable diesel market,” said Tidewater Renewables CEO Jeremy Baines.

“We believe the investigation is an important step in leveling the unfair-trade environment and offsetting unfair-trade practices that have caused a flood of subsidized and dumped renewable diesel into Canada, significantly undermining the Canadian industry,” he said.

Currently, there are 158 special import measures in force in Canada, covering a wide variety of industrial and consumer products.

These measures have directly helped to protect approximately 31,000 Canadian jobs and $11.6 billion in Canadian production.

The Canadian market of imports for renewable diesel has been estimated to be over $1.4 billion annually.