The White House called out Brazil for its almost ten-year old tariff on US ethanol as an example of duties the US needs to fight back against with reciprocal tariffs.
“This is something that should have been done many years ago. But jobs are going to go up and prices could go up somewhat, short-term, but I think prices will also go down. And I think the farmers are going to be helped by this very much.”
President Trump announced reciprocal tariffs to match others’ duties on US goods, as the White House pointed out Brazil’s 18-percent tariff on US ethanol versus almost no duty on Brazil’s ethanol.
Trump’s pick for US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was asked about the Brazil tariff at his senate confirmation hearing.
“This is a specific kind of unfairness that drives me crazy. And it’s not just me, but the president, himself. He sees these kinds of unfairnesses and the unlevel playing field…and it’s so obvious, it’s so blatant—and it’s gone on for so long.”
But now, Greer says President Trump is ready to act.
“We need to have leverage. And, if we need to gain leverage by taking investigatory actions or other actions, we’ll do that. It’d be much better to do that on a negotiating basis, but we’ll do whatever we need to do to try to fix it.”
The US ethanol industry says its exports to Brazil have basically dried up. The Renewable Fuels Association said it hopes the president’s reciprocal tariff will finally get Brazil to return to “free and fair ethanol trade.”
-NAFB