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The Orthodox Union, the world's largest kosher certification agency, has warned US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick that proposed tariffs on vegetable-based fatty acids could disrupt the supply chain for kosher-certified food products. In a letter to Lutnick, the organization argued that the duties would raise production costs without generating any meaningful domestic alternative, since animal-based oils and fatty acids are generally not considered kosher.
Fatty acids derived from palm and other vegetable oils are widely used in food manufacturing, including margarine, mayonnaise and a broad range of processed foods. The opposition illustrates how the US tariff push has unsettled global supply chains in unexpected ways, with consequences extending well beyond the producers and exporters directly targeted by the duties.
'To me, the big deal here is that we're speaking about a fundamental, basic food ingredient,' said Rabbi Moshe Elefant, chief executive officer of OU Kosher. 'It's not like saying, don't eat something fancy if you can't afford it.'
The political backdrop adds further weight to the dispute. A plurality of American voters have expressed concern about the cost of living in the run-up to the midterm elections, and a Reuters/Ipsos survey conducted on 31 August found that 71% of registered voters disapproved of President Donald Trump's handling of the issue.
The Commerce Department is currently investigating whether imports of vegetable-based fatty acids from Indonesia and Malaysia are unfairly burdening the US domestic market. A preliminary determination concluded that at least some tariffs were justified, and the agency proposed a countervailing duty of approximately 16.5% on vegetable-based fatty acids from Indonesia. Most fatty acid products originating in Malaysia would face a duty of at least 4%. Final tariff rates are expected by the end of the year.
The inquiry was triggered by a petition filed in January by Vantage Specialty Chemicals, a Chicago-based company that itself produces vegetable-based fatty acids. The company argued that unfairly priced imports were damaging US manufacturing.
'Dumping of foreign government-subsidised fatty acids has significantly damaged competitiveness and is undermining American manufacturing,' said Mike Waldron, senior vice-president of corporate affairs at Vantage, in a January statement. Neither the Commerce Department nor Vantage Specialty Chemicals responded to a request for comment on the Orthodox Union's letter.
Source: freemalaysiatoday.com