Soybean farmers are concerned with changes made by the Senate Finance Committee in the House-passed Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit language that would allow foreign biofuel feedstocks to qualify for the credit.

The American Soybean Association expressed disappointment in the text that removes a key provision to prevent foreign feedstocks from benefiting from U.S. taxpayer dollars.

“The Senate 45Z proposal turns its back on the Trump Administration’s farmer-first American energy dominance agenda, which was highlighted through EPA’s strong renewable volume obligations proposal that U.S. agriculture applauded,” said Caleb Ragland, American Soybean Association President and farmer from Magnolia, Kentucky. “RVOs and the 45Z tax credit should be seeking to achieve the same goals for U.S. farmers and domestic biofuel production, and instead the Senate budget reconciliation language seeks to provide U.S. taxpayer dollars to foreign feedstock competitors at the expense of soybean farmers.”

ASA applauded the inclusion of key 45Z revisions in the House-passed budget reconciliation that will support U.S. farmers and expand market opportunities domestically. For years, soybean farmers have watched used cooking oil and tallow imports take U.S. biofuel market share from soy because of policy incentives that did not promote a fully domestic value chain for biofuels. Both the House of Representatives and the EPA have sought to change course and promote farm-first energy policies, and ASA urges the Senate to follow suit as it continues to negotiate a budget reconciliation package.