Brazil’s government may consider lifting its import duty on out-of-quota U.S. ethanol. Last August, Brazil set a 20 percent duty on ethanol imported from the U.S. beyond an annual quota of 600 million liters (about 158.5 million gallons). According to Brazil’s agriculture ministry, lifting the ethanol duty is being studied. Ag minister Maggi was reported as suggesting that the decision, only “hypothetical” at this juncture, could be linked with or may influence a reevaluation of the United States’ import ban on fresh beef from Brazil. Maggi suggested that the ethanol duty may no longer be “justified” given changes in the country’s fuel market.
Brazil’s ethanol imports grew 121 percent in 2017, and the U.S. has been Brazil’s major ethanol supplier, shipping more than 99 percent of Brazil’s imports of the biofuel in the last two years.
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