{"text":[[{"start":9.72,"text":"Britain’s biodiesel producers have accused the government of sacrificing domestic green manufacturing after it declined to impose protective duties against heavily subsidised imports from the US."}],[{"start":20.4,"text":"The decision this month by business secretary Jonathan Reynolds came despite an official determination that duties of more than £250 a tonne were warranted to protect UK producers."}],[{"start":31.2,"text":"However, Reynolds cited an “economic interest test”, which found that while the protective duties could benefit UK producers by £3mn a year, downstream users and consumers would face a hit of £46mn as a result of higher prices."}],[{"start":45.88,"text":"But the UK’s nascent biodiesel industry accused Reynolds of taking a short-term approach that is at odds with Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s promises to reindustrialise Britain and promote local skills and jobs."}],[{"start":57.44,"text":"There is a growing demand for biodiesel, which is made from renewable feedstocks, such as waste oils and animal fats, and blended into conventional fuels for cars, trucks and ships."}],[{"start":68.32,"text":"The fuel can play a role in the transition to net zero, which Burnham recently said he was “determined” to meet by 2050."}],[{"start":75.2,"text":"Britain had five biodiesel plants several years ago but now has three, according to the Renewable Transport Fuel Association, the industry lobby."}],[{"start":83.44,"text":"It warned that Reynolds’s decision would put those plants at risk of “long-term or permanent closure”, leaving the UK over-reliant on imports and exposed to global market fluctuations."}],[{"start":93.08,"text":"“It is about what sort of renewable fuels industry we want the United Kingdom to have in five, 10 or 20 years,” said RTFA chief executive Alex Wolfe. “We need more clean fuel production capacity, not less.”"}],[{"start":107.2,"text":"Global production of biodiesel is forecast to rise by nearly 40 per cent, from about 71bn litres in 2024 to 99bn litres by 2035, according to the World Bioenergy Association, the OECD and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization."}],[{"start":123.48,"text":"British producers account for about 7 per cent of the UK biodiesel market, while US imports account for roughly one-quarter. The remainder is supplied mainly by China, the EU and Malaysia, leaving space for the UK industry to grow, domestic producers argue."}],[{"start":138.26,"text":"Dickon Posnett, corporate affairs director at Argent Energy, one of the UK’s remaining biodiesel producers, said clarity was needed on the government’s intentions. “Do they want a UK biodiesel industry or not?” he said. “This is a political signal that apparently seems to be saying ‘no’.”"}],[{"start":154.12,"text":"In March 2025, UK producers raised a complaint with the UK’s Trade Remedies Authority, the independent body that advises the government on trade defence measures, which found that they were being harmed by subsidised US imports."}],[{"start":167.04,"text":"Reynolds said he had considered its evidence, as well as wider matters in the public interest, but ultimately rejected imposing duties because the overall economic interest test had not been met."}],[{"start":177.56,"text":"However, Posnett questioned whether the decision had been influenced by political concerns about damaging the UK’s relationship with Washington. “The reasoning does not add up,” he added."}],[{"start":188.78,"text":"Last year, the UK government granted the US a 1.4bn-litre quota for bioethanol — a different green fuel — as part of a hastily signed trade pact with US President Donald Trump. The deal led to the closure of the UK’s largest bioethanol plant, which supported 4,000 jobs, leaving just one plant open."}],[{"start":207.88,"text":"The RTFA is consulting lawyers over whether to challenge Reynolds’s decision and plans to press the Department for Transport for stronger measures to support domestically produced renewable fuels."}],[{"start":219.04,"text":"The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said it was committed to supporting a competitive UK low-carbon fuels industry."}],[{"start":226.12,"text":"“We are already protecting domestic producers through a number of trade remedy measures, while the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation supports the use of sustainable biofuels, including biodiesel,” it added."}],[{"start":243.12,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1790584007_8562.mp3"}