In Brazil, the 20% import tax on ethanol imports above 600 million liters per year or 150 million liters per quarter came into effect on Friday, and are set to last for two years. The Brazilian government had long sought to create a global market for ethanol trade so was against such protections but the […]
In Washington, Nebraska Secretary of Agriculture Gregory Ibach and Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey were appointed to key USDA posts by President Trump. Ibach was appointed under secretary for marketing and regulatory programs, which oversees three USDA sub-agencies — Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration. Ibach […]
In Washington, D.C., the Renewable Fuels Association applauded EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s waiver of some fuel regulations in 12 states and the District of Columbia as a good start to help manage the fuel supply shortages caused by Hurricane Harvey in the Gulf area. RFA also said that more needs to be done to truly […]
In Washington, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) is requesting the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) launch a criminal investigation into whether former Special Advisor to President Trump Carl Icahn violated federal anti-corruption law by attempting to use his government position to enrich himself by hundreds of millions of dollars. Icahn is a billionaire and longtime […]
In Washington, policymaking via Twitter continues as Senator Chuck Grassley reported in a tweet that he’d had a phone call with President Trump who assured him that he is pro-ethanol and will live up to campaign promises made in Iowa. The Senator has been critical of the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed blending mandate for 2018 […]
In Zimbabwe, the country’s Energy Regulatory Authority says it has an open door policy for any would-be ethanol producer to apply for a production license in order to supply the blending mandate, contrary to popular belief that the opportunity was restricted to just a few players. Greenfuel and Triangle are the only two producers currently […]
In Argentina, continuing the Trump administration’s tradition of vague tweets, the charge d’affaires of the US Embassy in Buenos Aires said in a tweet that following a meeting with the country’s Foreign Minister and Production Minister that the two nations will work together on issues regarding biodiesel and agriculture. The announcement came days after the […]
In India, the government’s oil ministry issued an order further extending the deadline of the 12-member working group that was supposed to prepare a roadmap for expanding refining capacity last year. What was going to be a three-month project has now been over a year in the making as India prepare plans for increasing their […]
In Switzerland, the European Union and Argentina informed the World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement Body on August 9 that they had mutually agreed to modify the reasonable period of time for the European Union to implement the recommendations and rulings of the DSB to September 28, 2017 from the original August 10. Regarding the recommendations […]
In Washington, the American Biogas Council, BIO, Advanced Biofuels Business Council and the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas have written a letter to the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency urging the Renewable Fuel Standard continue to be administered in a way that promotes demand for cellulosic biofuels that truly generate D3 RINs rather than […]
