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President Donald Trump spoke at ethanol producer Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy last month at Council Bluffs, Iowa. A few months after the announcement of the Environmental Protection Agency, the exemption was expected to begin in the most recent ethanol requirements, but the refinery is still waiting to speak. The delay follows Trump's visit to Iowa.
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President Donald Trump spoke at ethanol producer Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy last month at Council Bluffs, Iowa. A few months after the Environmental Protection Agency was issued
… more
Photo: Nati Harnik, STF / AP
President Donald Trump spoke at ethanol producer Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy last month at Council Bluffs, Iowa. A few months after the announcement of the Environmental Protection Agency, the exemption was expected to begin in the most recent ethanol requirements, but the refinery is still waiting to speak. The delay follows Trump's visit to Iowa.
less
President Donald Trump spoke at ethanol producer Southwest Iowa Renewable Energy last month at Council Bluffs, Iowa. A few months after the Environmental Protection Agency was issued
… more
Photo: Nati Harnik, STF / AP
President Washington-Donald Trump is working to increase US ethanol demand as pressure from midwest corn farmers increases ahead of next year's presidential election.
According to a contract released Friday, from next year, refineries must mix at least 15 billion gallons of ethanol into the country's fuel supply, which is intended to limit the impact of the exemption granted to small refineries that the government claims financial difficulties. is.
Sonny Perdue, Secretary of Agriculture, said in a statement, "Trump has once again proved that he is a champion of American peasants and rural America." "The president recognized how American farmers are the most productive in the world and found a way to pursue policies that promote economic growth and support producers."
Related: As a rule of thumb for 2020, Trump weighs on farmer support at refinery costs.
The announcement hit the refineries located off the coast of the Texas Gulf.
"Domestic ethanol production is already strong and high in blending," said Scott Segal, a lawyer in the oil refining industry. "For the ethanol industry, too much is not enough. There is no guarantee that the administration will not demand more and more, as always the agricultural business."
The deal announced Friday that there is no upper limit on the price of Reinable Identification Numbers (RINs). The refinery must prove that it meets the renewable fuel standards created by Congress 10 years ago.
RIN prices have skyrocketed in recent years, and refineries and senators, including Texas Ted Cruz, have urged the government to take action. EPA said it is continuing to evaluate the RIN limit.
"Despite a clear commitment by government officials to pursue a cost-inclusive policy," Cruz said, today's announcement will hurt workers at blue-collar refineries, whose jobs are threatened by high RIN prices.
The administration still needs to figure out exactly what ethanol amount will be mixed according to renewable fuel standards, which still cannot make a final decision by the end of the year.
Last year, the EPA forced refinery blended 15 billion gallons of biofuels, but according to the Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group representing ethanol producers, the amount exempted under the exemption is less than 14 billion gallons.
Renewable CEO Geoff Cooper said, "The plan announced today will take important steps to remedy the damage caused by EPA's abandonment of small refineries and reset RFS re as the driving force for increased production and use of low carbon renewable fuels." Fuel association. "We thank President Trump for the concerns of ethanol producers, farmers and consumers nationwide."