Jamaican ethanol producers seek re-energize role in US-Brazilian trade

In Jamaica, Brazilian Ambassador Antonio Francisco da Costa e Silva Neto urged ethanol manufacturers to negotiate with Brazilian companies in an attempt to re-energize biofuel trade with the United States.

The expiration of the $0.54 tariff per gallon of ethanol entering the US from non-CBI countries has resulted in a significant decline in the price of ethanol imported from Brazil into the United States. The expired tariff puts countries that benefit from duty free concessions under the Caribbean Basin Initiative at a disadvantage, including Jamaica. It is now cheaper for Brazilian companies to go directly into the US rather than redirect wet ethanol to Jamaica for processing into fuel grade ethanol for shipment to the US.