EU scraps duty on jet fuel imports

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union adopted a regulation on Monday making jet fuel imports duty-free starting next year, ending months of uncertainty that had worried airlines, refiners and traders.

EU ministers "today adopted a regulation removing duties on jet fuel imports as from 1 January 2014", the executive European Commission said in a statement.

Monday's move applies to all imports of jet fuel, regardless of origin, the Commission said.

Europe's aviation sector, fuel traders and oil producers in the Middle East and India had feared a change to the European Union's tariff scheme from next year could lead to a 4.7 percent levy on purchases of jet fuel from outside the bloc.

The suspension of the duties for jet fuel will be reviewed within five years, the Commission said.

In June, the EU said it would impose a duty on imports from Gulf Cooperation Council states, which include Saudi Arabia and Qatar, starting on January 1, 2014 after removing the group from the so-called generalised scheme of preferences, which offers trade advantages to developing economies.

The EU ministers on Monday cancelled that duty.

European demand for jet fuel totaled 1.2 million barrels per day last year, of which one third was imported, mostly from the Middle East, according to the International Energy Agency.

(Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Writing by Ron Bousso; Editing by Dale Hudson)