Grassley said earlier that Brazil and other countries can export more than 452 million gallons of ethanol duty-free to the United States this year under a special trade agreement with Caribbean nations, but that threshold has yet to be met.
Bill to Cut Ethanol Tariff Going Nowhere Fast.
Senators Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, and Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, introduced legislation last week to lower the tariff to bring it in line with U.S. ethanol blending subsidies, which a recently enacted farm bill lowered to 45 cents per gallon from 51 cents per gallon.
Bill to Cut Ethanol Tariff Going Nowhere Fast
USAgNet - 06/11/2008
A new Senate bill to cut the U.S. tariff on ethanol imports has little chance of clearing Congress as there is not much time left on the legislative clock and it is too hot a political issue to take up in an election year, congressional aides say. Senators Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, and Judd Gregg, a New Hampshire Republican, introduced legislation last week to lower the tariff to bring it in line with U.S. ethanol blending subsidies, which a recently enacted farm bill lowered to 45 cents per gallon from 51 cents per gallon.
Reuters reports that the measure would cut import tariffs to 45 cents per gallon from the current level of 54 cents per gallon, and require Congress to lower tariffs again if blending subsidies are cut even further. The bill has been referred to the Senate Finance Committee, where it is likely to sit.
The panel's chairman, Democrat Max Baucus, has previously said he is against cutting the ethanol import tariff. In addition, Baucus would not normally put a priority on legislation sponsored by lawmakers who are not members of his finance committee, as is the case with Feinstein and Gregg. The top Republican on the finance committee, Chuck Grassley, opposes the bill, an aide to the senator said.
Grassley said earlier that Brazil and other countries can export more than 452 million gallons of ethanol duty-free to the United States this year under a special trade agreement with Caribbean nations, but that threshold has yet to be met.
Many energy experts say the import tariff should be reduced, or ended altogether, because the United States will need more foreign supplies to meet a federal law requiring higher ethanol use every year.
U.S. refiners have to blend 9 billion gallons of ethanol with gasoline this year. Those volumes will slowly increase to 36 billion gallons by 2022 |
