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Grassley wants nominee comment clarified
A comment made by President Obama’s nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to Brazil has Senator Chuck Grassley concerned. Grassley has written a letter to Secretary of State Hilary Clinton and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk asking for clarification on the comment made by nominee Thomas Shannon who said at his confirmation hearing earlier this month that removal of the import tariff on foreign ethanol would be “beneficial.”Grassley says that contradicts what Barak Obama had said as a Senator and a presidential candidate and it differs from the majority opinion of Congress last year which extended the tariff, “A growing U.S. renewable energy sector will decrease US reliance on foreign fuels,” Grassley says, “Otherwise, we’ll risk going down the path of replacing U.S. dependence on foreign oil with U.S. dependence on foreign ethanol.”
Grassley contends the US tariff on imported ethanol is appropriate. And he says Brazil – another major ethanol producer like the U.S. – already goes around the ethanol import tariff through a Caribbean trade preference program.
In the letter, Grassley says he wants President Obama’s stance on the tariff clarified and the confusion over Shannon’s statements cleared up before a confirmation vote. Grassley is ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee which has jurisdiction over international trade.
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