Peru extends compensatory duties on Argentine biodiesel

Peru's Indecopi has decided to extend compensatory duties on biodiesel imports from Argentina for an additional five years. The decision aims to protect the Peruvian national industry from perceived unfair competition.

Indecopi stated that the Argentine government maintains an intervened market for biodiesel, utilizing a system of controls that fixes official prices and sales quotas. This practice is viewed as a subsidy that places Peruvian producers in a vulnerable position. The authority noted that the Argentine industry possesses an export capacity more than 2.6 times the size of the entire Peruvian market.

These compensatory duties, which have been applied since 2016, are trade defense measures used when a foreign product receives government subsidies. The extension was conducted within the framework of World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations following an analysis of production, sales, and market share between 2021 and 2024.