During a roundtable discussion with Iowans in Dubuque, President Donald Trump said that he is “very close” to moving forward on year-round E15 sales. In response to his remarks, Iowa Renewable Fuels Association Executive Director Monte Shaw made the following statement:
“We appreciate President Trump coming to Iowa and acknowledging the need for year-round E15 sales. Opening up E15 would create a new market for renewable fuels producers and farmers here at home. But we are concerned that the President is being told it is ‘a very complex process’ – which likely refers to some in the Administration wanting to package E15 relief with other anti-biofuels provisions.
“President Trump himself has previously called the restriction on E15 ‘unnecessary and ridiculous’ and EPA has publicly stated it has the authority to grant E15 RVP relief. Given the past demand destruction and ongoing limits to ethanol exports, it is unnecessary and ridiculous to delay year-round E15 one more day. Now is the time to keep the President’s promise to remove restrictions on higher blends. Now is the time to take this simple step to create a new domestic market for ag commodities.
“Yet earlier this week, the new head of the EPA told reporters the agency would not be moving forward with year-read E15 sales absent some sort of package deal that included more benefits for petroleum interests, like the possibly illegal export RINs scheme that would devastate demand. Well, Iowans are asking where was the package deal when the EPA destroyed over two billion gallons of demand with dubious small refinery exemptions? Where was the package deal when over 300 million gallons were destroyed with the sweetheart PES bankruptcy giveaway? Where was the package deal when the trade dispute slammed the door shut on the potential 500-million-gallon Chinese export market for ethanol?
“It’s time for this Administration to own up to the damage it has inflicted-on biofuels producers and their farmer suppliers. Petroleum has already gotten their bite at the apple. It is time to make things right for agriculture.”
