UPDATED: March 7, 2025 – 1535 CST – SASKATOON — Trade tensions between Canada and the United States just ratcheted up another notch.
“The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced today that it is initiating investigations to determine whether imports of renewable diesel from the United States are being dumped and subsidized,” the agency said in a March 6 press release.
The investigation was launched following a complaint by Tidewater Renewables Ltd., a company that operates a renewable diesel facility at Prince George, B.C.
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“Tidewater alleges that as a result of an increase in the volume of the dumped and subsidized imports from the U.S., they have suffered material injury in the form of lost market share, lost sales, price undercutting, price depression, reduced profitability and negative impact on cash flow, return on investment and ability to raise capital,” the agency stated in its release.
Tidewater believes duties of between $0.50 and $0.80 per litre could be imposed on American renewable diesel at the Canada-U.S. border if it is successful.
That would counteract U.S. subsidies, such as the Blender’s Tax Credit, which expired at the end of 2024 and the 45Z Clean Fuels Production Credit that replaced it.
“Tidewater Renewables supports healthy competition in the renewable diesel market but cannot compete in a market severely distorted by foreign subsidies and dumping practices,” chief executive officer Jeremy Baines said in a press release.
Tidewater isn’t the only Canadian company affected by the tax credits that were contained in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act.
Parkland Corp. announced in 2023 that it was no longer proceeding with plans to build a renewable diesel plant in Burnaby, B.C., due in part to those credits.
The Canadian market for renewable diesel is estimated to be worth more than $1.4 billion annually.
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal will conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine if the imports are harming Canadian producers. It will issue a decision by May 5.
The CBSA will conduct a concurrent investigation to determine whether the imports are being sold in Canada at unfair prices and/or are being subsidized. It will be making its preliminary decisions by June 4.
