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Farmers, Ethanol leaders encouraged by USTR Brazil trade investigation
Brazilian and American leaders testified Wednesday as part of an investigation into Brazil’s trade practices.
A U.S. ethanol leader says the U.S. Trade Representative’s Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trade practices is needed. Geoff Cooper with the Renewable Fuels Association says, “I thought it was a great opportunity for us to share directly with those policymakers the impacts of Brazil’s punitive policies.”
Cooper tells Brownfield Wednesday’s hearing had questions from several agencies in a no-cameras closed session with testimony representing both countries. “There were representatives from the Brazilian sugar cane and sugar ethanol industries sitting right next to me along with representatives from the Brazilian corn ethanol industry. Obviously, they disagreed with many of the comments I had to offer.”
Cooper says Brazil was once the leading export market for U.S. ethanol buying almost 500-million gallons in 2018, but trade barriers have changed that. “That collapsed after they instituted this tariff and some of these other barriers. We didn’t ship a drop of ethanol to Brazil in 2023 and the volumes have been very negligible ever since then.”
Cooper says he’s confident this investigation will reveal a diverse array of barriers that Brazil has in place against the U.S. ethanol industry.
Neil Rockstad raises sugarbeets, corn, soybeans, and wheat near Ada, Minnesota and represented the American Sugarbeet Growers Association at Wednesday’s hearing. Rockstad tells Brownfield U.S. and Brazilian interests were heard. “It was certainly interesting to hear both sides of the story, both opinions, some meshed with each other and some clashed with each other, but it was certainly an interesting experience to me to see how some of this trade business in Washington D.C. takes place.”
Rockstad says 10-thousand family farms raise sugar beets in twelve states, but the U.S. is a net importer of sugar. He says the problem is Brazil flooding the market with sugar, having the same market impact as their corn and soybean production. “I raise corn and soybeans along with wheat and sugarbeets. Those commodities are very depressed. Sugar had about a one-year lag to those commodities but we’re experiencing exactly the same thing, and it’s unsustainable for the sugarbeet industry and it’s frankly unsustainable for United States agriculture to stay on this path.”
Rockstad and Cooper participated on the second of six panels that took questions from several government agencies Wednesday. Rockstad says part of the requested testimony was to offer potential remedies to the trade problems. Rockstad asked the USTR to slow or stop the high-tier duty sugar from coming into the U.S. when there is already a record oversupply of sugar. He says USDA and other federal agencies have tools available to correct that balance, and they need to use them.
Cooper tells Brownfield he’s confident this investigation is going to reveal the diverse array of barriers, both tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers that Brazil has in place against the U.S. ethanol industry.
The U.S. Trade Representative’s office began the investigation in mid-July under the direction of President Trump. The investigation is looking at unfair trading practices including digital trade and payment services, preferential tariffs, intellectual property protection, and ethanol. The investigators are also looking into Brazil’s anti-corruption enforcement and illegal deforestation which impacts U.S. timber and agricultural products.
AUDIO: Neil Rockstad discusses the USTR Section 301 hearing on Brazil’s trading practices with Brownfield’s Larry Lee
AUDIO: Geoff Cooper discusses the USTR Section 301 hearing on Brazil’s trading practices with Brownfield’s Larry Lee
Brazil is the main America agribusiness rival .. Brazil export to much soybeans and beef to China And Brazil promotes illegal deforestation . Between 2000 and 2018 Brazil deforested the size of Spain.