Source: US HOUSE AG COMMITTEE, 9/4/20
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson released the following
statement regarding the situation with United States ethanol imports to Brazil:"American corn and ethanol producers are struggling to
access domestic markets because of the coronavirus and the Environmental
Protection Agency's reckless implementation of the Renewable Fuel Standard," said
Peterson. "Brazil's move to increase tariffs on American ethanol
is more bad news for our producers. The Trump Administration should continue
working with Brazilian officials to restore the duty-free access that was in
place from 2012 to 2017." “Tariff wars have consequences, and our biofuels producers are seeing that first hand," added Peterson.
The Brazilian government’s tariff rate quota that placed a 20% tariff on America ethanol imports exceeding 198 million gallons expired on Sunday, August 31st, and Brazilian officials are yet to announce plans for the future of the U.S.-Brazil trade relationship. Without further action by the government of Brazil, all U.S. ethanol exports to the country are facing a 20% tariff. From
2012 to 2017, the Brazilian government had a zero-duty exemption for U.S.
ethanol imports to the country. Brazil is a major purchaser of American-made
ethanol, importing 332 million gallons of U.S. Ethanol worth $493 million in
2019. Congressman
Collin Peterson is a Co-Chair of the Congressional Biofuels Caucus and Chairman
of the House Committee on Agriculture. On August 20th, 2020, Congressman
Peterson and 19 Members of Congress sent a letter to
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer encouraging him to pressure
Brazilian leaders to restore the zero-tariff ethanol trade that once existed
between the U.S. and Brazil.
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