Despite a strong negative reaction from EU farmers and industry, the European Parliament does not seem likely to oppose the Commission's delegated act on sustainability criteria for biofuels.
In an eagerly-awaited decision, the European Commission last week categorised palm oil as a high-emitting biofuel crop but provided some controversial exemptions for smallholders and spared soybeans from the delegated act's provisions.
The European Commission’s Directorate-General (DG) of Energy will only give two days to other DGs to express their opinion about its much-awaited proposal on the sustainability criteria of biofuels, which will determine the future of palm oil in Europe.
EU Commissioner for trade Cecilia Malmström travels to Washington on Tuesday (8 January) for a new round of trade talks with US officials, as potential tariffs on cars hold on European industry’s head.
The United States has supplanted Brazil as the European Union’s top supplier of soybeans since a deal in July with President Donald Trump to avert a trade war, according to EU data seen by Reuters on Thursday (20 September).
Agriculture will be part of the negotiations between the United States and the European Union, whether Brussels wants to discuss it or not, US Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Monday (30 July).
The trade relationship between the United States and Europe is improving, German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner said on Saturday (28 July), but there is no guarantee the bloc will buy the quantity of soybeans that Washington expects.
The EU's pledge to import more soybeans from US farmers was the ‘dealmaker’ in the agreement between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and US President Donald Trump to stop the dispute and open trade talks, EU sources told EURACTIV.