Conflicting
reports are surfacing on whether Argentina is pursuing a complaint at the World
Trade Organization over U.S. duties placed on imports of biodiesel, with
Argentina's new ambassador providing the source of uncertainty.
The
prospect of Argentina pursuing a WTO has been floated since the U.S. process
started relative to potentially imposing duties on imports of biodiesel from
Argentina and Indonesia.
As for
filing a complaint at the WTO, Argentina's new ambassador to the U.S. Fernando
Oris de Roa told Infobae in an interview released January 15, "Yes, but
this way does not prevent to look for a new agreement between the parts."
However,
in a separate interview with El Cronista released today (January 16), Oris de
Roa said that the country was not yet taking the WTO route. "We are not
going to go for the moment. But we preserve the right to go," he said.
"To dismiss it would be absurd. We are not going to abandon the struggle
to find a reasonable tariff again. But you have to meta-position yourself about
the obstacle. They are abusive tariffs, it is true." He also noted the
country was still going to pursue finding a solution to the situation,
something Argentina has signaled for several months.
Meetings
between the U.S. and Argentina have been held on the import duties, but so far,
no resolution has been reached. It is not clear what the status of any
negotiations is at this stage.