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NCGA says Brazil’s ethanol tariff burdens U.S. commerce

The president of the National Corn Growers Association says Brazil’s 18% tariff on U.S. ethanol imports is unreasonable.

Kenneth Hartman Jr. tells Brownfield Brazil was once a top market for U.S. ethanol producers.

“That (tariff) basically was a freefall of us selling ethanol into the Brazilian market. We’re just frustrated with this because obviously we’ve got a big crop coming on here.”

Last month, the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office announced a U.S. Section 301 investigation into Brazil’s trading practices, specifically on ethanol. Hartman says the investigation allows USTR to determine if a foreign country has taken unfair trade actions that burden or restrict U.S. commerce.

“We appreciate President Trump and his diligence to look into unfair practices. This is definitely unfair practice.”

He says NCGA is seeking a fair resolution.

“The resolution I would see is if we’re going to have tariffs, then they need to be tariffs similar for either country. Or, have no tariffs that we can basically sell ethanol into Brazil and they can sell ethanol back.”

U.S. ethanol exports to Brazil have decreased from $761 million in 2018 to $53 million in 2024, according to data from NCGA.

INTERVIEW: NCGA President Kenneth Hartman Jr.