USDA Outlines Plan to Enhance Biofuels Export Opportunities
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) last week released the American Biofuels Trade Outlook, a plan it said “builds upon 2025’s record U.S. ethanol export performance, removes restrictions to American biofuels and secures new market opportunities for U.S. farmers.”
The record-setting 2.2 billion gal of U.S. ethanol shipped across the world last year representing $4.7 billion “reflects the hard work of America’s farmers and the powerful leadership of President Trump,” Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins said in a Sept. 16 news release.
“American farmers are fueling the future,” she added, “and the American Biofuel Trade Outlook outlines the USDA’s exact plan to ensure that success continues, and America’s producers continue to prosper.”
Work will continue on “core policy strategies,” USDA said, including an increase in on-road ethanol blending.
To attain that, the plan is to continue prioritizing breakthrough markets in Latin America and Southeast Asia that are prime for E10 adoption; continue addressing implementation challenges in markets like Vietnam and working with the 20 countries at E10 to fully implement their blending polices; and “further deepen partnership between Foreign Agricultural Service staff and government leaders to prioritize establishing and increasing ethanol blends.”
Another strategy cited involves reducing and removing restrictions placed on crop-based biofuels.
To do so would involve an attempt to continue preventing European Union (EU) influence over policies adopted by U.S. trading partners that place limits on biofuels; and to invest in research, outreach and technical work to maximize international market opportunities.
Another strategy named involves reaching untapped markets.
The plan would be to increase technical engagement to help encourage Mexico to adopt increased ethanol blending to expand U.S. ethanol exports; target high-impact emerging markets in Asia while focusing resources on markets with the largest potential long-term returns such as Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam; deepen engagement in India to reduce trade barriers, expand market access and build demand for U.S. ethanol; and leverage anticipated increases in market development funding to support new marketing initiatives in Pakistan and an ethanol pilot program in Nigeria.
The final strategy cited involved accelerating opportunities with international organizations.
It would include continuing USDA engagement with the U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization and the U.N. International Maritime Organization that supports the inclusion and competitiveness of U.S. biofuels “so that other countries, like Brazil, do not design rules that shut out American biofuels”; and proceeding with investments in research, outreach and technical work “necessary to ensure U.S. biofuels are treated fairly around the world.”