While meeting with Mexican Secretary of Agriculture José Calzada Rovirosa, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today held a teleconference for U.S. media. The two leaders engaged in bilateral talks, including a panel discussion with U.S. and Mexican producers, several agricultural site visits, and a joint press conference – seeking to build on the U.S. and Mexico’s well-developed track record …
Op-Ed Urges Brazil to Reject Ethanol Tariffs
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 …
Biodiesel Industry Files New Claim Against Argentinian Imports
The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition has filed a new allegation with the U.S. Department of Commerce claiming that “critical circumstances” exist with respect to imports of biodiesel from Argentina. The “critical circumstances” provision in antidumping and countervailing duties laws allows for the imposition of duties on imports that enter the United States prior to preliminary determinations of …
Biodiesel Industry Considering Options Against Argentina
The U.S. biodiesel industry is considering legal options as imports of subsidized biodiesel have continued to increase since the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) Fair Trade Coalition filed an antidumping petition in March alleging that dumped biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia have injured U.S. producers. “What we’re seeing is a vast amount of imports continue to flood into our ports,” …
Mexico’s Adoption of E10 Applauded
It looks like Mexico is jumping deeper into ethanol as a renewable fuel. Pretty big announcement out today. The Mexican Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE) announced recently a change that will increase the maximum amount of ethanol that can be blended in Mexican gas supplies from 5.8 percent to 10 percent, except in the cities of Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City. …
GRFA Charts Global Food Prices vs Ethanol Production
The Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) has released a new chart that shows the opposite trends in the UN FAO’s Food Price Index (FPI) and world fuel ethanol production since 2008 from F.O. Licht’s 2017 forecasts. GRFA president Bliss Baker says the graph clearly demonstrates that “ethanol production is not a main driver of global food prices.” The chart shows …
Ethanol and Biodiesel Groups Testify on Trade Issues
The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) and the National Biodiesel Board (NBB) both testified at a U.S. Department of Commerce hearing Thursday to provide input on a recent Executive Order concerning significant trade deficits. The NBB testified about the harm being caused to the U.S. biodiesel industry from increasing volumes of imports from Indonesia, while RFA was focused on China’s recent …
Branstad Touts Iowa Renewable Energy During China Hearing
During his confirmation hearing Tuesday before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to become U.S. Ambassador to China, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad had the opportunity to talk about his favorite subject – renewable energy. “Thank you for bringing that up because I’m very proud of where we’ve come from,” Branstad said in response to Sen. Tim Kaine (VA-D) asking about Iowa’s …
Global RFA Urges Renewed Pledge to CO2 Reduction
On Earth Day 2017, the Global Renewable Fuels Alliance (GRFA) called for a renewed global commitment to reducing CO2 emissions in the year ahead. GRFA president Bliss Baker notes that nearly 200 countries have signed on to the world’s first binding agreement on climate action. “What needs to happen next is the implementation of policies across the globe aimed at …
U.S. Initiating Biodiesel Anti-Dumping Investigation
As the U.S. Commerce Department last week initiated formal antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia, the biodiesel industry was giving testimony to the International Trade Commission on how those countries are violating trade laws and injuring American manufacturers and workers. Biodiesel imports from Argentina and Indonesia surged by 464 percent from 2014 to 2016, …