Contact: Cassidy Walter
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Positive Decision on E15 Should Not be Undone by Illegal Export RINs Scheme

JOHNSTON, IOWA – At today’s White House meeting, President Trump reaffirmed his commitment to removing summertime restrictions on the sale of E15. It is reported that there was consensus during the meeting on moving forward with year-round E15 sales and to scrap the idea of creating a new Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) waiver credit program, sometimes referred to as a RIN cap. President Trump was joined in the meeting by Sens. Ted Cruz (TX), Pat Toomey (PA), Chuck Grassley (IA) and Joni Ernst (IA).

“It is very positive to see that consensus was reached on year-round E15 sales,” said Iowa Renewable Fuels Association (IRFA) Executive Director Monte Shaw. “Unnecessary and ridiculous restrictions have hampered retailers offering E15. Once the restrictions are removed, the boost in E15 sales will boost ethanol demand and corn prices. We look forward to President Trump acting quickly on E15 before the June 1^st deadline.”

During a discussion on how to make the RFS whole after an unprecedented number of small refinery economic hardship exemptions were granted by EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, Texas Senator Ted Cruz floated the idea of allowing exported gallons of ethanol to count toward domestic RFS blending requirements. There was no agreement on this export RIN scheme.

“An RFS export RINs scheme slashes overall ethanol demand by at least 1.4 billion gallons, destroying billions in farm income,” stated Shaw. “Such a scheme would break President Trump’s promise to voters to uphold the RFS, break Pruitt’s commitment to several Senators to not pursue the idea, break the letter of the law that requires gasoline used in the United States to contain the applicable volume of renewable fuel, break the US’s WTO commitments as a clear export incentive, and will reduce overall ethanol production – undercutting the goal of US energy dominance. Ultimately, we need President Trump to fix the demand destruction from unwarranted small refinery exemptions, not agree to yet another demand destruction scheme.”

Shaw concluded: “We are not done fighting to protect the RFS. We will continue to work with our champions – Sens. Grassley and Ernst and Gov. Reynolds – to protect a 15-billion-gallon domestic ethanol market and to have the right to grow exports without undercutting domestic demand.”

The Iowa Renewable Fuels Association represents the state’s liquid renewable fuels industry and works to foster its growth. Iowa is the nation’s leader in renewable fuels production with 43 ethanol refineries capable of producing nearly 4.4 billion gallons annually – including approximately 55 million gallons of annual cellulosic ethanol production capacity – and 12 biodiesel facilities with the capacity to produce 400 million gallons annually. For more information, visit the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association website at: www.IowaRFA.org.

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