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Corn growers and ethanol groups put lawmakers on blast Thursday after last-minute legislative deal-making left language out of government funding bills that would have allowed year-round use of E15—a gasoline blend containing 15% ethanol. Instead, lawmakers established a study group to advance separate legislation in February.
“Corn growers are disgusted, disappointed and disillusioned that after spending years of calling for passage of E15, Congress has again punted, and it has done so in a spectacularly weak and offensive way,” said National Corn Growers Association President Jed Bower, in a statement.
Rep. Zach Nunn, an Iowa Republican, and other Midwestern lawmakers had threatened to block the funding package without a deal to approve year-round sale of E15, Politico reported. E15 sales currently face limits during summer months due to air quality regulations.
After late-night talks GOP leaders agreed to set up the E-15 Rural Domestic Energy Council, with members appointed by the Speaker of the House, “to develop legislative solutions to address the crisis facing our nation’s farmers and refiners,” according to Agri-Pulse. The council was created by the rule that established debate on a spending package that was up for a vote on Thursday. News reports said the council is directed to submit legislation no later than Feb. 15, with the goal of considering legislation no later than Feb. 25.
Ethanol stakeholders roundly panned the idea of setting up a council at this stage in the process.
“Bizarrely, members of Congress are now planning to establish a rural energy council to explore this legislation as if we are in the beginning stages of discussing E15,” Bower said. “We already have a bill. We already have an agreement with the petroleum industry after months of negotiation. But instead of acting, Congress is now suggesting a process-ridden task force that kicks the can down the road once again.”
Indeed, frustration appeared to be amplified by the fact that petroleum groups and ethanol-supporting groups – often at odds – had appeared to agree on an approach to the thorny issue of limiting refineries’ future exemptions from biofuel mandates.
“Starting from scratch makes absolutely no sense,” said Geoff Cooper, president and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association, in a statement.
“We already have a compromise deal that is broadly supported by ethanol producers, farmers, large oil refiners, several small oil refiners, fuel retailers, and many other stakeholders, but lawmakers appear to be letting it slip away,” Cooper said, putting the blame on opposition from mid-sized fuel refiners.
Biofuel trade association Growth Energy CEO Emily Sklor said Congress “appears to have prioritized the demands of a few well-capitalized foreign refiners that plead poverty with lawmakers while boasting financial success with investors” and implored the council to deliver a solution for year-round E15.
Sen. Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican, put the blame on opposition from small refineries and told Brownfield Ag News that a February deal could also see E15 legislation as part of a package that includes a second round of financial support for farmers.
USDA’s foreign ag-land ownership portal… USDA on Thursday announced the launch of a new online portal it said was designed to streamline reporting of transactions involving U.S. agricultural land by foreign persons, which can include businesses and governments, under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978. USDA said the portal is part of a broader effort to strengthen enforcement and protect American farmland as it continues its implementation of the National Farm Security Action Plan.
EU lawmakers to ‘unfreeze’ U.S. trade deal… European Union lawmakers are poised to press ahead with approval of a trade deal with the U.S. after “freezing” work on the agreement in response to President Donald Trump’s threat of tariffs on European countries over Greenland, Bloomberg reported. Tensions thawed after Trump on Wednesday ruled out using military force and then dropped the tariff threat, hailing a “framework” deal that news reports say is aimed at shoring up Arctic security. The easing tensions led to a second day of gains for stocks, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all notching gains.
Strong GDP data… Government data Thursday showed U.S. gross domestic product grew at a robust 4.4% annualized pace in the third quarter of last year, up from an initial estimate of 4.3%, marking the strongest quarterly growth in two years. The pickup reflected upturns in investment, exports, and government spending, as well as an acceleration in consumer spending.
Inflation still sticky… The government on Thursday released delayed October and November personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index readings, the Federal Reserve’s favored inflation gauge. It showed PCE rose 2.8% year over year in November, up from 2.7% in October. The core reading, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also rose 2.8% year over year in November. The readings were in line with Wall Street expectations but remained well above the Fed’s 2% target, reinforcing expectations the central bank will leave rates unchanged at its Jan. 27-28 meeting.
EU-Mercosur deal likely to take effect in March… The European Union’s trade deal with the Mercosur bloc of South American countries will likely be implemented on a provisional basis as early as March, Reuters reported Thursday, citing an EU diplomat. That’s despite a looming challenge to the deal before the EU’s top court. The trade deal has been vigorously protested by European farmers who say it will unleash a torrent of cheap agricultural imports. EU leaders responded by adding safeguards meant to respond to surges in imports.
The report said EU lawmakers dealt a blow to the contentious trade agreement with Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay on Wednesday by referring it to the European Court of Justice, potentially delaying it by two years.