The brother of President George W. Bush will finish his term as Florida governor next month and become co-chairman of the new Interamerican Ethanol Commission.
Launching the new commission Monday in Miami, Bush acknowledged that the idea of working with other nations like Brazil to supply ethanol for the United States would probably not be well received by producers in the Midwest, joking that it was “living proof that I’m not running [for president].” The governor is in favor of reducing or eliminating the current tariff on imports of ethanol from Brazil.
Governor Bush wrote an op-ed article on the new venture that was published in the Miami Herald, saying that increased ethanol consumption can strengthen the United States’ relationship with Latin America, serving as a catalyst to remove barriers to free trade within the region. Ethanol can be a powerful catalyst for poor nations to ”grow their own energy” and capitalize on trading partnerships to boost economic opportunity.