Trump Pulled Back into Oil-Ethanol Fight

March 16, 2020

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by Kelsey Tamborrino (Poltico's Morning Energy) JUST WHEN HE THOUGHT HE WAS OUT:The president is once again caught in the middle of a spat between oil refiners and ethanol producers centered around small refinery exemptions under the RFS, Pro's Eric Wolff reports.

The White House is trying to set up a meeting with Trump, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, and potentially other senior officials this week to decide whether EPA should appeal a 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision from January that curtailed its issuance of SREs to gasoline makers, according to three people in the oil refining and biofuel industries.

Following the court ruling, EPA had been expected to apply the ruling nationwide and drastically cut the number of exemptions it issued. But the president received pressure from House and Senate Republicans, and Attorney General William Barr, not to do so, which prompted the administration to instead request an extension until March 24 on whether to appeal the ruling.

As recently as last week, Trump told corn champion Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) he would not appeal but would instead ask EPA to apply some kind of cost controls, according to a source familiar with the call. And with the outbreak of COVID-19 forcing Americans to hunker down at home, fuel consumption is dropping and makers of both biofuels and gasoline are seeing weak demand.

The biofuel and oil industry sources say the White House has not reached a decision on whether to file an appeal, and a meeting is designed to help resolve the matter. "The decision to delay the appeal decision was seen as a way to buy additional time," said an oil industry source. "I think it is safe to say that the world has changed a bit since last Friday and that, hopefully, folks at the [White House] have more important things to worry about than [biofuel credit] prices right now." READ MORE

EPA sends mixed messages on Renewable Fuels Standard (AgWeek)

U.S. SENATOR ERNSTr TALKS OIL REFINERY COURT DECISION, CHINESE TRADE DEAL (Raccoon Valley Radio)

President Trump choosing refineries over farmers (Fence Post)

Bill Biefer: Farmers deserve a real solution from EPA (The Cap Times)

Letter: Backing farmers (The Courier)

LETTER: Abuse of refinery exemptions should be addressed (Portage Daily Register)

Ethanol Report 3-16-20 -- Update on 10th Circuit Court case delay and Coronavirus (AgNewsWire)

How oil prices could affect 2020: HOW LOW OIL PRICES COULD COST TRUMP (Politico's Morning Energy)

As Coronavirus Roils Energy Markets, RFA Calls for Immediate Action from White House (Renewable Fuels Association)

Cattle and biofuels clamor for aid, as Schumer proposes broader plan (Fern's Ag Insider)

MERKLEY, SENATORS INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO BAR TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FROM USING PANDEMIC AS EXCUSE TO GIVE HANDOUTS TO FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY (Office of Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR))

FARM AND ETHANOL LEADERS TO ADMINISTRATION: DON’T FILE THAT APPEAL (Successful Farming)

Cole, Oklahoma colleagues seek continued relief for small refineries (The Ripon Advance)

Excerpt from Renewable Fuels Association: Our industry is being adversely affected not only by the economic constraints caused by the coronavirus, but also by the oil price war, ongoing trade disputes and EPA’s small refinery waivers.

“While the policy response to turbulence in the energy markets has so far focused largely on supporting crude oil producers, we urge the Administration to recognize that biofuel and agricultural commodity markets are suffering as well. Ethanol futures prices hit a record low in recent days, as the coronavirus is expected to negatively impact domestic and international fuel demand in the near term. With many ethanol plants on the verge of shutting down, we implore the Trump administration to take action that equitably supports all liquid fuel industries—including ethanol producers—during this time of unprecedented market uncertainty and unrest.

“One important and positive step we urge the President to take immediately would be to announce that his Environmental Protection Agency will not appeal the recent 10th Circuit court decision on small refinery waivers and that EPA will implement the 500 million gallon remand as ordered by the D.C. Circuit Court in 2017. Given the robust financial assistance the Trump administration is planning to provide to oil producers, immediate actions to ensure EPA abides by these court decisions can help soothe concerns among those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture and renewable fuels.” READ MORE