A bipartisan group of senators, led by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan), are calling on the Biden Administration to address the recent surge in used cooking oil imports.
Used cooking oil is oil that is left over from cooking, particularly in fryers. UCO is considered a waste product and therefore carries certain advantages in biofuel programs.
The United States last year imported 3 billion pounds of UCO, half of which came from China – up from a total of 200 million pounds imported in 2020.
The timing of the large jump in imports of Chinese UCO during mid 2023 corresponds to the period when Germany asked the European Union to investigate biofuel imports from China that were labeled as made from waste oils
The senators sent letters yesterday to the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture, US Trade Representative and Customs and Border Protection.
“There is concern by some in the renewable fuels industry that large amounts of imported UCO may be a blend of UCO with virgin vegetable oils such as palm oil, which is directly linked to deforestation in Southeast Asia,” the senators wrote.
“This would constitute fraudulent value distortion of the commodity designed to take advantage of US tax incentives in addition to Renewable Identification Number (RIN) fraud under the RFS...We are concerned with the lack of transparency surrounding the United States’ efforts in the area of verifying imported UCO, specifically as it relates to
1) ensuring the integrity of the imported UCO by validating that traceability requirements have been met; and
2) evaluating the chemical composition of the imported UCO.”
The senators are asking each of the four agencies to answer the following questions:
1. Considering the suspicions levied in recent news coverage, can you confirm product imported from China classified under Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheading 1518.00.4000 is meeting the specifications for classification under that provision, or is China exporting virgin vegetable oils to the U.S. as counterfeit UCO?
2. What actions are currently taken to determine the integrity of Chinese UCO as a feedstock? Provide details on frequency and process for government audits.
3. Provide the current Customs protocols for determining the suitability of Chinese UCO for importation into the United States.
4. If it is found that these imported products are being mislabeled as UCO, how will you ensure they are not beneficiaries of the Clean Fuel Production Credit?
Also signing the letter are Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb).
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