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Brazil ethanol tariff hike looms

Efforts continue to stop Brazil from raising tariffs on U.S. ethanol.

U.S. Congressman Randy Feenstra of Iowa tells Brownfield he recently met with Chief Ag Negotiator in The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Doug McKalip as the Brazilian government looks to increase the rate in 2024.

“He said they’re working on it, they’re trying to stop it. We don’t want to put a tariff on theirs, however (the U.S.) might have to. But what he said is come January or February that they should also have this retroactive and taken off.”

He says the U.S. exports four to five million gallons of ethanol to Brazil every year.

“That’s going to be down to 400,000 if this tariff continues to be put on us. So it’s a very big deal.”

Brazil reinstated its 16 percent ethanol tariff this past February and plans to raise it to 18 percent in January.