It’s the moment of truth for EU-US trade negotiations. What does that mean for Europe’s renewable ethanol sector?

It’s the moment of truth for EU-US trade negotiations. What does that mean for Europe’s renewable ethanol sector?

European renewable ethanol biorefineries are of vital strategic importance to the EU – producing not only renewable ethanol for sustainable fuels but also contributing to food security by increasing protein self-sufficiency, boosting investment into biogenic CO₂ capture and providing jobs and business opportunities in rural areas, supporting thousands of local farmers and cooperatives.

This strategic importance was demonstrated vividly during the Covid-19 pandemic, when EU ethanol biorefineries shifted production to hand sanitiser. It’s proven again and again every year as the EU ethanol industry increases its greenhouse-gas saving score, produces more protein for food and animal feed, and increases production of biogenic CO₂ for industrial and beverage applications.

That’s why it’s so important that EU negotiators do not jeopardise this important industry by including ethanol in a zero-for-zero tariff agreement with the US. This would open the EU market to imports of US ethanol, which is produced at low cost (including much lower energy costs) and not produced according to the same strict sustainability criteria or under the same market conditions as European ethanol.

The playing field against EU producers isn’t even close to level. An EU-US zero-for-zero tariff deal that includes ethanol will only tilt it further.

We are witnessing the potential damage of such an agreement in the UK, where a deal with the US threatens to wipe out the ethanol industry. Europe should not make the same mistake.