Britain’s biodiesel producers have criticised the government’s decision not to impose protective duties on subsidised US imports, warning that the move could put the country’s remaining domestic production capacity at risk, Financial Times reported.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds rejected the proposed duties earlier this month despite an official assessment that tariffs of more than £250 per tonne could help protect UK producers. The government’s decision followed an economic interest assessment which estimated that protective duties would generate about £3 million a year in benefits for UK producers, while increasing costs for downstream users and consumers by around £46 million.
The Renewable Transport Fuel Association (RTFA), which represents the industry, said the decision could threaten the future of the UK biodiesel sector. The country has three biodiesel plants, down from five several years ago, according to the association.
RTFA chief executive Alex Wolfe said the decision could leave the UK increasingly dependent on imported renewable fuels and vulnerable to changes in global markets. He argued that the country needed to expand domestic clean-fuel production capacity rather than reduce it.
Biodiesel is produced from renewable feedstocks including waste oils and animal fats and is blended into conventional fuels used by road vehicles, trucks and ships. The industry sees the fuel as part of the transition towards net-zero emissions.
Global biodiesel production is projected to increase by nearly 40%, from about 71 billion litres in 2024 to 99 billion litres by 2035, according to the World Bioenergy Association, the OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
UK producers currently account for about 7% of the domestic biodiesel market, while US imports represent roughly one-quarter. Other supplies mainly come from China, the European Union and Malaysia.
Dickon Posnett, corporate affairs director at Argent Energy, one of the UK’s remaining biodiesel producers, said the industry needed greater clarity over the government’s long-term approach to domestic production.
UK producers had filed a complaint with the Trade Remedies Authority in March 2025, alleging that subsidised US imports were causing harm to domestic producers. The authority found evidence of injury but its recommendations were ultimately rejected after the government concluded that the wider economic interest test had not been met.
Posnett questioned whether broader political considerations had influenced the decision, including the UK’s relationship with the US. His comments were reported by the Financial Times and represent the industry’s view rather than an established finding.
The biodiesel industry is also drawing comparisons with an earlier UK-US trade arrangement involving bioethanol. Last year, the UK government granted the US a 1.4-billion-litre quota for bioethanol, a separate renewable fuel, under a trade agreement with US President Donald Trump. The arrangement was followed by the closure of the UK’s largest bioethanol plant, which supported around 4,000 jobs, leaving one plant operating.
The RTFA is consulting lawyers on whether to challenge Reynolds’s decision and plans to seek stronger government measures supporting domestically produced renewable fuels.
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade said the government remained committed to developing a competitive UK low-carbon fuels industry. It said domestic producers were already covered by several trade-remedy measures, while the Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation supports the use of sustainable biofuels, including biodiesel.
