In Iowa, the Iowa Legislature approved legislation (H.F. 640) preventing oil refiners’ supply agreements from directly or indirectly limiting the ability of local retailers to offer the ethanol and biodiesel blends they choose. The provision was based on a law enacted in South Dakota in 2011 and addresses specific, anti-competition provisions from actual refiner supply […]
In Mexico, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today issued the following statement following his meeting with Mexico’s new Secretary of Agriculture, Enrique Martínez y Martínez, which reads in part: “In our wide-ranging discussions, Secretary Martínez and I committed to reenergize and revitalize the U.S.-Mexico Consultative Committee on Agriculture, a forum that will enable us to address […]
In India, after years of battling between sugar mills and oil companies over the fair market price for ethanol, the price has finally been set at INR35 (62 cents), up from INR27 as had been set by a cabinet committee a few years ago as a temporary measure until a fairer pricing formula could be […]
In California, Assemblymember Kristin Olsen (R- Modesto) introduced AJR 21, which would urge Congress to swiftly enact House Resolution 1462, the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Reform Act of 2013, to revise the requirements of the Renewable Standard program in order to alleviate the impact of rising feed costs. The RFS Reform Act will eliminate corn-based ethanol […]
In Washington, the American Sugar Alliance says the US and Mexican governments are in discussions about the possibility of using some of Mexico’s surplus sugar as ethanol feedstock that is later re-exported back to Mexico. Under NAFTA, Mexican sugar enters the US market duty-free but with an over-supplied sugar market at the moment, the US […]
In Iowa, the Senate has approved a tax break for ethanol that continues the current rate of taxation, $0.20 per gallon, for another year. Without the extension, the fuel would be taxed at $0.21 per gallon. The House has yet to approve the change. The House has also seen an amendment that would gradually increase […]
In Washington, an “unintentional” subsidization of foreign ethanol imports created by the RFS may be closed with a new bill introduced by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Joe Manchin (D-WV). The Foreign Fuels Reduction Act, the Senators argue, has created an incentive to import biofuels by not requiring volume requirements for the advanced and total […]
In Washington, as part of the EPA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for RIN integrity, QAP providers were required to submit details of their QAP-A replacement plans to the EPA by May 1, 2013. Under the NPRM, the QAP-A RIN provides an obligated party zero liability if the RIN is ever to be found invalid. […]
In Switzerland, Argentina has made an official complaint against the European Union at the World Trade Organizations in the latest chapter in their on-going spat over alleged biodiesel dumping. Argentina is complaining about specific trade policies in Belgium, Spain, Poland, France and Italy.
In Nepal, despite the government imposing an E10 blend for all public transport vehicles as of January 2004, the policy remains unimplemented and the country’s sole ethanol plant—built in 2004 at Shree Ram Sugar Mills at Gadura—has never come online other than for trial runs when it was first constructed. The country imports 150,000 liters […]
