Without a Grand Deal, Trump Tries to Dodge Ethanol Question

September 04, 2020

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by James Osborne (Houston Chronicle) ... And with the election just two months away, all signs are Trump is trying to push back a decision on the how much ethanol to blend into the nation’s gasoline supply until after the ballots are cast, so as not to alienate voters in battleground states — whether its oil and gas workers in Pennsylvania and Texas or corn farmers in the Midwest.

That has left both sides obviously frustrated, with one consultant to refining interests in Washington complaining privately this week, “the administration is waffling back and forth.”

“We were told we were getting this and then it was that,” they said. “They were going to solve this and then they weren’t.”

Trump’s approach from that start has been to give both sides some concession, in hopes they would put aside their differences.

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But with corn farmers losing billion gallons of ethanol demand to refinery waivers each year — out of a mandate currently set at 15 billion gallons — they were far from asuaged.

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Under pressure from Midwestern Republicans, Trump promised last year to make up the difference.

But how? He could raise mandates on refineries not receiving waivers, but that risked angering politicians from oil-rich states like Texas.

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So far the president’s approach has been to not commit to anything, hoping to leave the problem until after the election. And it could be working.

With Biden so far uncommitted on what his ethanol policy would be, voters in both corn states and oil and gas states are left without a clear savior. READ MORE

With flood of EPA waivers, refineries find way around ethanol mandate (Houston Chronicle)

Rural Americans Have Faced Outsize Hardship Under President Trump. Will They Still Vote for Him? (Time Magazine)

As the presidential election nears, the ethanol industry is watching closely to see which candidate will be more supportive of the Renewable Fuel Standard. (Ethanol Report 8-28-20/AgNewsWire)

TRUMP FAILED ON TRADE AND ETHANOL, SAYS DEMOCRATIC FARM FORUM (Successful Farming)

Wheeler’s Second Term Vision For EPA — More of the Same (Our Daily Planet)

Excerpt from Time Magazine: Many farmers remain hesitant to talk about the human role in global warming, but there’s also a growing conversation about how farmers can be a part of the climate solution. Nonetheless, in all quarters, there’s little debate that something needs to be done in response to protect against extreme weather. And while Trump has earned praise from state Republican officials, many have questioned his decision not to approve the full package of aid requested by local officials. Families “lost homes and businesses and saw their communities turned upside-down by the hurricane-force winds,” said Iowa Rep. Abby Finkenauer, a Democrat, in a statement. Trump’s partial approval of emergency funds, she added, “falls short.”

Trade tensions have also hit farmers hard. Much of Iowa’s corn and soybean harvest is typically exported to China. When Trump launched his trade war, China pulled back its purchases, leaving American farmers’ crops to rot. The Administration offered lifeline payments to help farmers make ends meet, and in January signed a deal with China in which the country agreed to buy billions in U.S. agricultural products as part of a preliminary trade deal. But the purchases have yet to materialize in full, and farmers have been left in the lurch.

And then there’s the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), which requires oil refiners to blend oil with ethanol when making gas to be bought at the pump. The policy is intended in part as a lifeline for Iowa’s corn farmers, who sell much of their harvest to be turned into ethanol. In response to pressure from allies in the oil and gas industry, the Trump Administration has weakened enforcement of the rule and granted exemptions to refiners so they don’t have to buy ethanol made from the farmer’s corn.

This may sound like a wonky piece of regulation, but to many farmers, it’s key to financial viability. READ MORE