[jpsb]

Subsidy is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (or institution, business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy.

Mandate, noun, an official order or commission to do something.

See the difference?

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

There is a distinction between subsidy and mandate, but in the sense of government subsidization of an industry, there is no difference.

Ethanol is more polluting than oil, is harmful to automotive engines, is more expensive than American oil, and drives up the price of corn. It amounts to a subsidy to corn-growers.

[dem bums]

And when there is a mandate to use a certain percentage of ethanol in fuels, that mandate creates an artificial market for ethanol, which acts as a backdoor subsidy.