In the No. 1 corn and ethanol state, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told a friendly farm audience on Wednesday that the Trump administration is “looking for the right balance” of the needs of ethanol makers and oil refiners so that it can allow year-round sales of E15. The acting EPA administrator has said that the approval of year-round E15, a higher blend of ethanol into gasoline than the traditional 10 percent, must be part of a package that benefits the petroleum industry, too.
President Trump campaigned in rural America as a supporter of ethanol and said as recently as last month during a stop in Iowa that the administration was “very close” to approving year-round sales of E15, which now cannot be sold during the summer. For nearly a year, oil-state senators have demanded relief for refiners from the Renewable Fuel Standard in return for any concessions made for ethanol.
Perdue said Trump called him as he arrived at the Farm Progress Show in central Iowa “and said, ‘Sonny, we need to get that year-round E15 done. Let’s get that done.’ ” During a broadcast interview, Perdue continued, “We just had some hiccups with the refinery group, and we’re looking for the right balance to get that done. This is what he wants to do.”
While touring the showgrounds, Perdue told farmers about the presidential phone call: “It’s on his mind. He wants something done quickly. He said, ‘You get with that EPA administrator, and you all bring me something I can announce.’ ”
Farm groups have intensified the push for E15 by saying it would help to counterbalance the impact of the trade war on farm exports and the slump in farm income since the 2013 collapse of the commodity boom. They also have criticized the EPA for granting a larger-than-usual number of RFS “hardship” exemptions to small-volume refineries. They say the exemptions effectively reduce the market for corn ethanol.