Why Trump Is Eying Cooking Oil Ban in China Trade War: QuickTake

Cooking oil could become a new front in the US-China trade war as tensions between the two countries ratchet up. President Donald Trump said that the US is considering terminating imports from China as “retribution” for its refusal to buy American soybeans.

While Trump didn’t specify, the focus is likely to be on used cooking oil, better known as UCO, a waste product generated by households, restaurants and food manufacturers.

UCO can be processed into biofuels, which offer a “drop-in” solution to replace fossil fuels and are becoming increasingly popular amid the push to curb carbon emissions. One such biofuel ...