(WASHINGTON D.C.) — Earlier this week, President Donald Trump called out an almost ten-year old tariff on U.S. ethanol by Brazil that was an example of many duties that his administration plans to fight back against with reciprocal tariffs.
Speaking in the Oval Office, President Trump said in part that “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.”
The U.S. ethanol industry welcomed this stance from President Trump in response to trade barriers that effectively ban American ethanol from Brazil’s market. “While American biofuel producers have been almost entirely blocked off from the Brazilian market, Brazilian producers have enjoyed unfettered access to the U.S. In some cases, certain policies in the U.S. even incentivize the use of imported Brazilian ethanol instead of ethanol produced here in the U.S.,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “This runs contrary to putting America first, and is exactly why President Trump is taking steps to address this issue. Thank you, President Trump for taking action and pushing for a level playing field for American ethanol producers.”
According to a statement from the Renewable Fuels Association, while Brazilian-made ethanol has enjoyed virtually duty-free access to the U.S. market since 2012, Brazil has implemented tariffs and disruptive trade barriers against imports of U.S. ethanol starting in 2017. As a result of Brazil’s punitive tariffs, U.S. ethanol exports to Brazil have essentially dried up in recent years—despite American-made ethanol being the most cost-competitive renewable fuel in the world.
“For almost a decade now, we have spent precious time and resources fighting back against an unfair and unjustified tariff regime imposed by Brazil’s government on U.S. ethanol imports,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “What’s more ironic is that these tariff barriers have been erected against U.S. ethanol imports while our country has openly accepted—and even encouraged and incentivized—ethanol imports from Brazil.
Cooper noted that U.S. ethanol exports to Brazil went from 489 million gallons in 2018, with a value of $761 million, to just 28 million gallons in 2024, valued at $53 million.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s Energy and Mining Minister Alexandre Silveira said on Thursday that a potential U.S. tariff on Brazilian ethanol would be unreasonable, emphasizing that the two countries have historically negotiated ethanol and sugar trade together.
His remarks came after President Donald Trump moved to scrap decades-old low tariff rates, raising them to match those of other countries. A White House fact sheet on the plan pointed to Brazil’s ethanol tariffs as an example of unfair trade practices. The U.S. tariff on ethanol is a mere 2.5%, yet Brazil charges U.S. ethanol exports an 18% tariff. As a result, in 2024, the U.S. imported over $200 million in ethanol from Brazil while exporting only $52 million in ethanol to Brazil, the document said on Thursday.
