The Renewable Fuels Association is expressing concern at Brazil’s imposing of a hefty tariff on U.S. ethanol imports into their country. RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper says those tariffs are being imposed on top of an already instituted trade quota that is injuring U.S. ethanol producers.
He’s pleased President Trump said this week he’s now considering reciprocal tariffs against Brazil for their trade actions and that they’ve written to the U.S. Trade Representative thanking the administration for taking that stance.
Cooper says they’d rather conduct free and fair trade with Brazil rather than dealing with all these trade barriers.
Cooper says Brazil’s policies caused 2019 U.S. ethanol exports to them to fall 33 percent compared to 2018 while shipments continue to slide in 2020. He adds that by some estimates Brazil’s trade barriers have already resulted in the loss of demand for nearly 350 million gallons of U.S. ethanol valued at nearly $400 million since late 2017.
