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Iowa Corn president addresses ethanol tariff dispute with Brazil

The president of Iowa Corn says he hopes the ethanol tariff dispute with Brazil gets resolved sooner rather than later.

Stu Swanson tells Brownfield he’s optimistic about a fair resolution for Brazil’s 18% tariff on U.S. ethanol imports.

“We’ve got conversations between the governments here in the U.S. and Brazil. I think we can find a way that we can get that solved.”

He says Brazil used to be one of the top customers of U.S. ethanol.

“Now we are not exporting anything and then they were able to come in tariff-free into the U.S. We’ll get that addressed too. It’s something farmers have been talking about and demanding answers.”

U.S. ethanol exports to Brazil have decreased from $761 million in 2018 to $53 million in 2024, according to data from the National Corn Growers Association.

In July, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office announced a U.S. Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trading practices, specifically on ethanol.