Drop the 54 Cent Tariff on Imported Ethanol
Drop the 54 Cent Tariff on Imported EthanolIf you live in the Farm Belt of the United States you may be enjoying a lower price on fueling your car with a blend of ethanol and gasoline, while others living outside the Farm Belt are paying a premium to fuel their vehicles because American ethanol is not distributed to them. Basically the Farm Belt is where American ethanol is produced and sold and there is not enough of it to distribute to all states. Most states do not have any ethanol to distribute to their residents today and it is forecast that it may take 20 years or more for America to produce enough ethanol for all residents.
Oil is highly priced today and the trend is going up. America needs the importation of ethanol in the supply and demand equations of oil reducing demand to lower or at least slow the price increase trend of oil. Americans in most states should be able to enjoy the lower prices of imported ethanol just like the Farm Belt states enjoy the lower price of American ethanol.
The 54 cent tariff on imported ethanol is an unfair tax to residents of most states in the United States. Residents of most states cannot obtain American ethanol because it is all consumed where it is made in the Farm Belt states and there is none left over to distribute to other states.
The 54 cent tariff on imported ethanol effectively prices it out of the American market, while eliminating the tariff would encourage importation.
If America wants a little relief from high oil prices, then the tariff must be abolished to encourage the importation of ethanol. Importing ethanol would reduce America's dependence on foreign oil a little, but even a little is important. The countries producing foreign ethanol are not the same countries producing foreign made ethanol.
The American federal government stores oil for emergency usage and should also store ethanol for the same reasons.
It does not make sense for residents in most states to purchase flex fuel vehicles that can burn fuels that are mostly ethanol such as e85 which is 85% ethanol as well as mostly gasoline blends if there is no ethanol available in their state which is the case today. Some countries reached or are soon to reach energy Independence like Brazil by eliminating the need for gasoline and replacing it with ethanol. America's thirst for ethanol is more than 10,000 times greater than the ethanol produced in America today and that demand will increase over time. America's ethanol producers will never be able to produce enough ethanol to satisfy America's demand for it.
Congress should abolish the 54 cent tariff on imported ethanol immediately. This tax hurts the American economy and is painful to the American consumer. It is un-American.
posted by God Bless America - Bob @ 4:07 PM
0 comments
