On 1 June, a bipartisan group of 21 members of the House of Representatives asked USTR to address Brazil’s treatment of U.S. ethanol, specifically a reinstatement of tariffs and access to Brazil’s carbon credit program for ethanol. Between the tariff and lack of access to the credit program, U.S. exports to Brazil have effectively been cut off.
First, the tariffs. From 2012 to 2017, U.S. ethanol entered Brazil tariff-free. In 2017, Brazil imposed an annual TRQ of 600 million liters (158 million gallons) on ethanol imports from 1 September 2017 through 31 August 2019. Any volume above the quota was subject to the 20 percent Common External Tariff (CET) under the Mercosur agreement. That tariff was reassessed 24 months after im...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
Key Takeaways: The Middle East and North Africa's arid climate and limited water resources have created a structural dependence on imported wheat. Government wheat tenders in major importing countries serve as important benchmarks for global trade, providing insight into exporter competitivene...
