Photo credit: Angelia Weiss, Getty Images contributor The ethanol industry, which says it has lost $3.8 billion in sales since March due to the pandemic, is increasingly looking to the Biden administration for relief at the same time that farm groups want the new president to resolve the trade war with China. But a Purdue University professor said it was unlikely that President Biden, when he takes office on Jan. 20, will immediately undertake broad-scale trade reform, pointing out that “he has other priorities that take precedence.” Corn ethanol production is down 2 billion gallons this year because of the economic slowdown that accompanied the pandemic and reduced gasoline consumption, said the Renewable Fuels Association on Wednesday. Geoff Cooper, the RFA’s chief executive, said Congress is shying away from targeted aid, but that the USDA could provide the money if Congress provides a new tranche of cash for agricultural assistance.
Industry groups call Brazil decision ‘devastating’ for U.S. ethanol
A coalition of agriculture groups says Brazil’s decision to impose a 20 percent tariff on all U.S. ethanol imports is devastating for the U.S. ethanol industry.
The group includes the U.S. Grains Council, Growth Energy, the Renewable Fuels Association and the National Corn Growers Association.
The organizations made the comments in response to the Brazilian government’s decision to let the current tariff rate quota expire, replacing it with a 20 percent tariff on all imports of U.S. ethanol.
The statement continues, “Not only does this decision risk destroying the great progress our two nations have made as global leaders in ethanol production, it marks a dramatic turn in our bilateral trade relationship.”
Trade leaders label Brazil decision devastating for US ethanol | Biofuels International Magazine biofuels-news.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from biofuels-news.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
12/9/2020
By Stephanie Kelly
NEW YORK, Dec 9 (Reuters) - The Trump administration has
argued against a petition from oil refiners asking the U.S.
Supreme Court to review a lower court decision that undermined
the legitimacy of the Environmental Protection Agency s biofuel
waiver program.
Department of Justice officials said the court should not
review the case as it does not conflict with any other Supreme
Court or appeals court decision, according to the brief
submitted on Dec. 8. The officials argued that the court could
review the decision after a similar case is completed in the
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
By Andy Petersen
Dec 10, 2020
The Biofuels Coalition filed a brief challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision in August of 2019 to approve 31 small refinery exemptions under the Renewable Fuels Standard for 2018. The group submitted the brief to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the EPA lacked the authority to issue such exemptions and that it acted arbitrarily and capriciously in attempting to do so. The coalition includes Growth Energy, Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association, National Biodiesel Board, American Coalition for Ethanol, and the National Farmers Union.
“Among all of EPA’s indefensible actions surrounding small refinery exemptions in recent years, the agency’s two-page decision to grant 31 waivers from 2018 RFS compliance takes the cake,” coalition representatives say. “Enough is enough.”