Renewable Fuels Association president and CEO Bob Dinneen teamed up with former UNICA Chief Representative Joel Velasco to pen an op-ed for Brazilian newspaper Estado de S.Paulo urging the country’s leaders to resist returning to failed protectionist policy over ethanol.
“As the primary advocates for our respective industries, we fought many impassioned battles over trade and tax policy,” wrote Dinneen and Velasco. “As old warriors who have fought this insipid battle too many times before, we implore leaders in Brazil to say no to a return to a protectionist past.”
“There will be no winners, only losers,” the two continue. “Consumers will pay more for ethanol blended gasoline in Brazil. Farmers in both countries will suffer from lost markets. Carbon emissions will rise if U.S. ethanol is replaced by increased petroleum.”