HomeAg NewsGrassley Blasts Imports of Chinese Used Cooking Oil, Undercutting US Biofuels

Grassley Blasts Imports of Chinese Used Cooking Oil, Undercutting US Biofuels

Claimed-to-be-used cooking oil from China has lit a firestorm of controversy in the U.S. oilseeds and biofuels industries. The purported Chinese cooking oil is undercutting U.S. crops used for biofuels, and the National Oilseed Processors Association wants higher tariffs on the product—whatever it is.

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley’s staff has met with other Midwestern senators and he says “There is agreement that we should be following up to make sure that this is used, or otherwise, it can’t come to our country. It can’t be eligible for the tax credit.”

Grassley says it may be time to talk to Beijing. He says, “Just some inquiries to China may do some good, because that’s what Europe did, and Europe was getting a lot of this palm oil. And then, this, all of a sudden, stopped and then started coming into the United States.”

Spurring NOPA and its biggest soybean processor members Cargill, Bunge, and ADM to seek higher levies to level the field with other clean energy sources. Either way, Grassley says, “But we’re intent on getting to the bottom of this.”

On the line: demand for U.S. crops to make renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel. Bloomberg reports imports of Chinese processed animal and vegetable fats and oils reached more than 200 million dollars in the first quarter of this year, versus 770 million dollars in all of last year.

Story courtesy of Matt Kaye/Berns Bureau and NAFB News Service

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