U.S. Ethanol Export Scales Record

US ethanol, which is subsidized as a local substitute for foreign oil, is currently exporting at a record level. This situation deviates from the original intention of the US biofuels policy by providing tax credits to companies that incorporate ethanol into gasoline to reduce their reliance on imported fossil fuels. The continuous increase in ethanol exports will be the core content of the debate on hybrid fuel tax credits, which will expire at the end of this year. U.S. export companies enjoy this discount offer and have already been opposed by Europe. Rob Vierhout of ePure, the European Ethanol Association, said: "The intent of providing tax credits for blended fuels is not to promote their exports." He also warned that the European side may take legal action to prevent US exports from receiving tax credits for ethanol. Most of the ethanol in the United States is extracted from corn, and ethanol exports increase the demand for corn. According to the forecast of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, nearly 40% of this year's corn crop will become ethanol fuel. Recently corn ** hit a new high in two years. According to data released by the U.S. government last week, during the first nine months of September 30, the U.S. exported a total of 251 million gallons of ethanol fuel, more than double the total export volume in 2009. The United States has become a net exporter of ethanol fuel this year. Since the data does not take into account the ethanol that has been mixed with gasoline before export, the actual export figures may be higher. Christoph Berg of FO Licht, a consultancy based in Hamburg, Germany, estimates that mixed fuels increase the amount of ethanol exported to the United States by more than 50%. According to experts from the Chinese phenolic resin network, the top destinations for ethanol exports from the United States were: Canada, 75 million gallons; the Netherlands, 58 million gallons; the United Arab Emirates, 5 million gallons; the United Kingdom, 10 million gallons; and Saudi Arabia. , 170,000 gallons. Some of the mixed fuels exported by traders enjoy a 45-cent tax credit per gallon. According to the Congressional Budget Office, in 2009, the biofuels tax credit policy resulted in a total reduction of US$6 billion in taxes.