UK Trade Remedies Authority Brief
Headline
UK Trade Remedies Authority closes HVO biodiesel subsidy investigation with no countervailing duties imposed on US imports
Executive Summary
The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) published its final determination on 10 September 2026 in its subsidy investigation into US imports of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biodiesel. The TRA found both subsidisation and injury to UK industry. The Secretary of State nonetheless declined to apply anti-subsidy measures, concluding that doing so would not serve the UK's economic interests.
Bottom Line
US HVO biodiesel enters the UK market without countervailing duties, notwithstanding the TRA's findings of subsidisation and material injury to UK industry. The economic interest test, applied as a statutory requirement before final measures take effect, produced the outcome that blocked implementation. UK FAME biodiesel producers carry the competitive exposure that the recommended duty range of £258.10 to £266.68 per tonne was designed to offset.
Key Regulatory Signals
- No Duties Applied Despite Positive Injury Finding: The TRA confirmed that US HVO biodiesel imports were subsidised and caused injury to UK industry, yet no countervailing duties will be imposed. The economic interest test, which the TRA is required to conduct before recommending final measures, produced a negative result, blocking the duty recommendation from taking effect.
- Recommended Duty Range Rendered Moot: The TRA had recommended a fixed countervailing duty of between £258.10 and £266.68 per tonne on US HVO imports. That recommendation does not proceed to implementation. Importers and UK buyers of US HVO biodiesel face no new cost burden from this investigation.
- UK HVO Producers Receive No Protective Measure: The UK has no dedicated domestic HVO production capacity, though it maintains an established fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) biodiesel industry. The absence of a duty leaves UK FAME producers competing against subsidised US HVO without a trade remedy offset.
- Scope Excludes Sustainable Aviation Fuel: Synthetic paraffinic kerosene, commonly known as sustainable aviation fuel, was explicitly excluded from the investigation's product scope. Aviation fuel supply chains are unaffected by this determination.
Regulatory Delta
No direct TRA precedent exists for a final determination where a positive subsidisation and injury finding is overridden by a negative economic interest test at the Secretary of State stage. This makes the outcome structurally notable within the UK trade remedies framework.
The economic interest test, a statutory gate built into the UK trade remedies regime, functioned here as the decisive mechanism. It blocked duties that the TRA's own injury analysis supported.
The determination closes an investigation launched in March 2025 with no protective measure in place, leaving the UK's post-Brexit trade remedy toolkit tested but unused on this product class.
Materiality Classification
HIGH — This action carries confirmed regulatory impact beyond its home jurisdiction.
Intelligence Outlook
Monitor the TRA for any review application or appeal of this determination, and for any subsequent investigation into HVO biodiesel from other originating countries.