Biofuels Fight Is Brewing Between U.S. and Brazil Over Ethanol

The U.S. biofuels industry, fresh off a win against Big Oil, is lining up for a fight with Brazil. American ethanol producers said Thursday in a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer that they’re seeking Brazil’s suspension from a trade program allowing duty-free imports into the U.S. The move follows Brazil’s decision in August to slap a 20 percent tariff on ethanol shipments from the U.S. that exceed a 600 million-liter (158 million-gallon) annual quota.The U.S. ethanol lobby was buoyed last month by President Donald Trump’s instruction to Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt to support the Renewable Fuel Standard, a law mandating the use of fuels such as corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel. Trump’s personal interventioncame despite the objections of oil refiners.