[P-40]

If we could burn Brasilian alcohol

There is a problem with using ethanol from Brazil because it uses sugar...and gets into some weird trade issues.

[Law is not justice but process]

Ah, sugar subsidies. Another market triumph for the United States.

I would think, though, that a significant enough cost advantage would lead some to find a way to import alcohol. Contribute to enough campaign war-chests and anything can happen.

The cost advantage would probably be significant, as well. Land is much cheaper down there, as is labor. Overhead is much lower as there is no OSHA or EPA to speak of. Getting rid of waste would be much easier, as well. It comes down to the same trade issues as everything else: if we can buy it cheaper from another country, is it fair to make the American consumer pay more for the domestic product (either directly or through subsidies)?

[thackney]

There is a problem with using ethanol from Brazil because it uses sugar...and gets into some weird trade issues.

Last year, we imported about 66 million gallons of ethanol from Brazil, out of 193 million gallons of total ethanol imports. Sounds like a lot, but U.S. ethanol plants produced 3,904 million gallons in 2005.

We actually import more Brazilian alcohol via the Caribbean – 103 million gallons from Jamaica, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Trinidad last year. Under U.S. tax law, dehydrating Brazilian ethanol in those countries to remove the last three percent of water content makes it “local” ethanol eligible for duty-free access to our market.

We’re still importing Brazilian ethanol – and so what? http://www.iowafarmbureau.com/programs/commodity/information/060517.pdf