In Washington, Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, released a proposal to make technical corrections to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (PL 115-97) and to extend several expired tax credits, including the biodiesel and renewable diesel tax incentive. NBB welcomed the proposal for a multi-year extension of this […]
In Washington, the Renewable Fuels Association estimates that demand destruction for ethanol resulting from hardship waivers granted by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2017 led to a loss of $2.3 billion in revenues for the ethanol industry between February and August 2018. RFA analysis shows that following a peak blending rate of 10.8% in January, […]
In Malaysia, the government moved up the start date for the new biodiesel fuel mandate to December 1st instead of the expected February start date because the cabinet has approved the use of B10, allowing the date to be moved up earlier than expected. With lowered demand from Europe for palm oil, the move is […]
In Washington, Congressman John Shimkus (Illinois-15) and Congressman Bill Flores (Texas-17) released a discussion draft of the 21st Century Transportation Fuels Act. “I’ve been engaged in the biofuel debate my entire career in Congress,” said Shimkus, whose district includes significant corn and soybean producers as well as major ethanol and oil refiners. “In this Congress – […]
In Washington, Politico reports that there is a strong likelihood biodiesel tax credits could be made retroactive for 2018 and apply to 2019 with the new Congress when Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley takes over as the chair of the Senate finance committee. He is pushing for it as part of a tax extenders package during […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that in the run up to negotiations for the next Renewable Fuel Standard following the current one that expires in 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency plans to publish in January proposed blending mandates for through 2022. Though sources said the agency had yet to settle on a number for 2022, it […]
In Germany, a new working paper by the International Council for Clean Transportation says it found strong evidence that 40-53% of oil palm expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia has occurred on high carbon stock land in recent decades, including forest, wetlands, and shrubland. ICCT researchers say there is some evidence that significant expansion of soy […]
In Argentina, the Cámara Argentina de Biocombustibles, CARBIO, is fighting back in response to the European Biodiesel Commission which claims Argentina is distorting the export prices of its biodiesel by imposing a higher export tariffs on soybeans and soybean oil than on biodiesel. CARBIO president Luis Zubizarreta told Clarin, “The European Commission is aware that […]
In Washington, Reuters reports that an unidentified group of biofuel producers referred to just as “Producers United” has asked a federal judge to keep the Environmental Protection Agency from continuing to issue hardship waivers to smaller oil refineries. The complaint filed in US Appellate Court alleges that the EPA’s decision to retroactively grant waivers to […]
In France, France24 reports that the government has announced a plan to end imports of agricultural products it says leads to deforestation by 2030 including palm oil, soy and beef. The move follows the European Parliament’s approval of the updated Renewable Energy Directive that seeks to eliminate use of palm oil in biofuels by 2030, […]
