US Trade Rep gets an earful about biodiesel during Iowa visit

In Iowa, hosting a U.S. Trade Representative on his family farm outside Des Moines, Grant Kimberley, executive director of the Iowa Biodiesel Board, took the opportunity to discuss trade issues relevant to biodiesel. This included the threat imported biodiesel poses to the domestic market and to the success of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard.

Ambassador Michael Froman traveled to Des Moines this past weekend to meet with farmers, ranchers, small business owners and elected officials on how Iowa stands to gain from the current U.S. trade agenda. Iowa is the second-largest agricultural exporter in the United States.

During Ambassador Froman’s tour of the farm where the Kimberleys raise corn and soybeans on 4,000 acres, Kimberley discussed a concerning application made to the Environmental Protection Agency. Submitted by the trade association representing Argentine biodiesel producers, the organization is asking EPA to approve an “Alternative Renewable Biomass Tracking Requirement.” If approved, it would in effect replace the stringent feedstock recordkeeping requirements of the RFS regulations and allow Argentine biodiesel to qualify for the U.S. biomass-based diesel program under a more streamlined review process.

“The unfortunate fact is that if EPA approves Argentina’s application, we could be looking at 600 million gallons or more of Argentine biodiesel imported to the U.S., displacing our own domestic production,” Kimberley said. “We know this because an Argentinean tax subsidy would allow each gallon of biodiesel from Argentina to enter the United States at prices lower than biodiesel produced in the U.S.”

The current RFS proposal would set biodiesel volumes at 1.28 billion gallons, a dramatic decrease from last year’s actual production of nearly 1.8 billion gallons.

“Flooding the market with Argentine biodiesel in addition to this sharp cut would lead to a devastating loss of jobs currently supported by the domestic biodiesel market,” Kimberley said. “Until the proposed cuts, the RFS had been working as intended, but now we’re in the unfathomable position of also replacing imported oil with imported biodiesel. It makes no sense.”

Kimberley said Ambassador Froman and his staff were aware of the issue and receptive to the Iowa Biodiesel Board’s point of view.

During the tour of their facilities, the Kimberley family also talked about the importance of fair exports to U.S. agriculture, and showcased the technologies that enable their productivity. This includes the latest in agricultural equipment and touch-screen crop monitors that digitally map soybean and corn fields.

Biodiesel – made from a variety of resources including soybean oil, recycled cooking oil and animal fats – is the first EPA-designated Advanced Biofuel to reach commercial-scale production nationwide.