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Pruitt and Perdue to present RFS proposal to Trump
Story Date: 2/27/2018
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Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 2/26/18
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue will meet with President Trump today to present a package of changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard aimed at ending tensions between corn farmers and oil refining firms over the program.
The two officials will propose: capping the price of biofuel credits (called Renewable Identification Numbers); a year-round waiver for the sale of 15 percent ethanol gasoline; the creation of credits for exported ethanol; and a transparency measure intended to cut Wall Street investors out of trading in the program. All of the proposals would be executed administratively, rather than legislatively, Pro Energy's Eric Wolff has learned.
The pitch precedes a meeting Trump has on Tuesday with Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Pat Toomey (R-Penn.). Chief of staff John Kelly and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn are also expected to attend.
In essence, the Cruz proposal: Cruz has been proposing the waiver-for-RIN-cap package for months now and getting nowhere with corn-state lawmakers. The addition of allowing credits for exports, which Pruitt floated and abandoned last year after an uproar from Gang Grain, seems unlikely to add to its appeal, although ethanol producers have expressed openness to the transparency measure.
A refinery source told Eric that the legal authority for some of these measures would be "highly doubtful, but by the time the rule is final and then litigated, authors will be long gone from the scene. Think at least 2-2.5 years. God only knows what gyrations the market will endure in the interim."
Independent refineries are in: Another source says that the proposals "would result in more predictability in the RINs market and in expanded biofuels sales and higher blends. That's the sort of win-win Cruz and Toomey seem to have been referring to. And this process seems not to require legislative action, therefore ensuring faster results."
Catching the president's eye: Ahead of the meetings, Fuels America will launch a TV ad on "Fox & Friends" in the D.C. market starting today. The ad thanks Trump for his commitment to the RFS.
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