The lawsuits and complaints in the green car industry are flying about non-stop these days. Porsche vs. London. Tesla vs. Fisker. Michael Papp's troubles. State-based emissions and fuel economy regulations in the U.S. Here's yet another to add to the list: The European Biodiesel Board (EBB) vs. American biodiesel producers.

According to the Northern Echo, the EBB has filed a complaint with the European Commission that claims that U.S. biodiesel poses unfair competition to inter-EU producers and asked for duties to be paid on imports of B99. The problem, the EBB says, is that American producers get U.S. subsidies when they make the biofuel and then also get European subsidies when they export it to Europe. In the Northern Echo's example, U.S. biodiesel is sold for half as much as domestic biodiesel in the UK.

[Source: Northern Echo]

"Illegal concurrence" and "subsidized dumping" is what the European Biodiesel Board (EBB) calls US biodiesel imports into the European Union, backing up a similar statement made by Spanish producers. According to the EBB, Europe is importing half a million tons of U.S.-made B99 (700,000 million tons according to other estimates). The U.S. biofuel has a much lower price than that made in Europe.

While concurrence is actually quite a good thing, the EBB states that these imports aren't fair because the US gives substantial subsidies to the biofuel industry that makes the final product much cheaper than its actual price. Current subsidies are almost 300 dollars per ton, which (again according to the EBB) means that biodiesel from Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil is first imported into the US and then exported to the EU to gain the benefit. The EBB also claims that then the imported fuel is even incentivized by some EU country members as they attempt to promote the use of biofuels. Another claim is that B99 is being sold as pure B100.

For all these reasons, the EBB is asking the European Commission to take measures (they speak about legal actions) that would counteract unfair cheap U.S.-imports and help develop the local industry (full press release after the jump)

[Source: EBB via Energias Renovables]