Statement of RFA President Bob Dinneen on efforts by Brazilians, Integrated Food and Meat Processors to Undermine US Ethanol Industry

“The campaign being orchestrated by Brazilian sugar and ethanol producers, curiously coinciding with the campaign of multi-national food and meat processors, to remove the tariff is intentionally designed to mislead and misinform Americans about Brazilian ethanol and American biofuels policy. America does not tax nor does is prevent imports of Brazilian ethanol from entering our market. Rather, it ensures through the offsetting secondary tariff that Brazilian ethanol producers cannot reap subsidies from American taxpayers.

“Removing the secondary tariff on imported ethanol is a poor solution in search of a problem. The secondary tariff is not a barrier to imports. In fact, large quantities of foreign ethanol already enter this country without paying the tariff through a trade loophole known as the Caribbean Basin Initiative. Still more arrives directly from the shores of other nations into American ports, paying the secondary tariff.

“Moreover, removing the tariff will do nothing to reduce fuel or food prices. The only result of such a change in policy would be that American taxpayers would be required to subsidize foreign ethanol production which, in the case of Brazil, has enjoyed decades of preferential government treatment.

“American ethanol producers are supportive of the development of a worldwide biofuels industry. However, this attempt to belittle American ethanol as somehow inferior to Brazilian ethanol is both untrue and ignores Brazilian labor and environmental practices that have been criticized. Every country around the world would benefit from a domestic biofuels industry and they should be allowed to develop one without unfair criticism or interference from other nations.”