Growing Concerns About Foreign Imports Drive SAF Demand – Ohio Ag Net

U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) led a bipartisan group of colleagues calling on the Biden administration to block the use of taxpayer money to subsidize biofuels made from imported foreign feedstocks, such as Chinese waste cooking oil and Brazilian ethanol.

“Ohio farmers grow the raw materials that are essential to producing clean fuel,” said Tadd Nicholson, CEO of Ohio Corn & Wheat. “The 45Z tax credit has the potential to provide valuable incentives for the production and use of biofuels, which will lower carbon emissions. Without clear national feedstock requirements, as Senator Brown and his Senate colleagues are calling for, the benefits of this policy are at risk and could be taken away from American farmers.”

In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Brown and colleagues urged the administration to limit the eligibility of the future 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit to renewable biofuels, meaning fuels made from domestically sourced feedstocks. The tax credit, which was passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act, was intended to make America more energy independent and spur production of biofuels made from feedstocks produced in America — building new markets for American farmers.

The letter comes amid a surge in Chinese imports of used cooking oil used to make biofuels in the U.S., replacing domestic raw materials. The senators warn that the poorly designed rules will hurt American farmers, undermine the competitiveness of the U.S. biofuels industry and undermine American energy independence.

“While Treasury works to develop the 45Z guidance, we urge you to limit eligibility to domestically produced renewable fuels,” the senators wrote. “If designed and implemented properly, the credit will help support America’s robust energy independence — by encouraging the production of biofuels made from domestically produced feedstocks. To achieve this goal, it is imperative that the 45Z rule establishes clear, enforceable pathways for domestically produced renewable fuels from domestically produced feedstocks.”

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, along with Senators Mike Braun (R-IN), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Todd Young (R-IN), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) joined Brown and Marshall in sending the letter to Secretary Yellen.

“The federal Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit is designed to support a domestic market for cleaner-burning fuels that promote American jobs and energy independence,” said Rusty Goebel, president of the Ohio Soybean Association. “Foreign imports of raw materials should not benefit from the investment of American taxpayers in this industry. Ohio soybean farmers support Senator Brown’s efforts to ensure that Ohio-grown raw materials are not undermined by foreign suppliers.”