Congressman proposes ethanol import tariff extension

Ethanol Producer Magazine
By Kris Bevill December 06, 2011

Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., introduced legislation on Dec. 2 that would extend the 54-cent per gallon ethanol import tariff, currently scheduled to expire at the end of this year, through 2014.

According to Rangel, the tariff extension is necessary in order to preserve the ethanol refining industry in Caribbean nations and protect it from reduced U.S. market share as a result of Brazilian ethanol entering the market. As part of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act and the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, trade programs collectively known as the Caribbean Basin Initiative, certain Caribbean nations are allowed to export a percentage of dehydrated ethanol to the U.S. duty-free each year. “It is critical for U.S. businesses and consumers to help our partners in the Caribbean Basin Initiative retain a vibrant ethanol refining industry,” Rangel said in a statement.

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