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Sen. Marshall says China is taking advantage of U.S. producers on SAF tax credits

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall says countries like China shouldn’t be eligible for new sustainable aviation fuel tax credits.

“If China is eligible for this, they’ll figure out a way to cheat,” he says. “Let’s make a tax credit here to benefit American farmers as opposed to the Chinese.”

The Kansas Republican says since August 2023, used cooking oil imports from China and other countries have averaged over a half billion pounds per month, putting pressure on the price of U.S. soybeans and corn.

“It’s lowering the price of soybeans back home, so that soybean crop that we planted two months ago, the price that my farmers are going to get is dropping every day because of China taking advantage of this ill written rule by the White House,” he says.

Kansas Corn Growers Association CEO Josh Roe says the airline industry wants to use sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) but says the Treasury didn’t recognize the newest models for carbon intensity in SAF.

“If the latest science isn’t being utilized through there, it’s really kind of leaving on the table, some of the great conservation practices that our corn and soybean farmers are adopting everyday,” he says.

Roe says the Treasury Department goes a step further stating that in order to qualify for the tax credit, farmers must adopt a specific set of conservation practices on their land.

“It doesn’t give any any flexibility whatsoever. That’s very problematic for a state such as Kansas, we are very diverse state in terms of climate, in terms of crop rotation and so that’s really what we’ve taken issue with,” he says.

Sen. Marshall and a coalition of Senators signed a letter this week urging the Treasury Department to make a fix.

“This is something the White House could fix in about three minutes. Have some lawyers write the language properly and it’s done,” he says.

The tax credit takes effect Jan. 1.