Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make a statement on the (a) timing and (b) outcome of the Trade Remedies Authority’s investigation into imports of US-produced Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and set out the steps his Department is taking to ensure that UK biodiesel producers are not placed at a competitive disadvantage resulting from unfair trading practices.
Answered by Chris Bryant - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Trade Remedies Authority is the UK’s independent arms-length body responsible for the conduct of trade remedy investigations. They make recommendations to the Secretary of State as to whether any such measures should be introduced.
On 17 March 2025 the Trade Remedies Authority initiated a subsidy investigation on the import of HVO Biodiesel of US-origin. As the investigation remains ongoing, I cannot comment further. The TRA will publish relevant information on the public file as the review progresses.
Asked by: Graham Stuart (Conservative - Beverley and Holderness)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the UK-US trade deal on the UK's bioethanol industry.
Answered by Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for Scotland
Whenever a trade agreement of any sort is agreed, there will be domestic impacts if our trading partners have requested further access to the UK market. That is the case for the agreement on bioethanol. Senior officials from the Department for Business and Trade have been meeting representatives of the domestic bioethanol industry, and the Secretary of State has met with bioethanol businesses. We are committed to working with the domestic bioethanol industry about their concerns.