In a letter sent today, the Renewable Fuels Association encouraged Australia&rsquo;s energy minister to strongly consider U.S. ethanol imports as a cleaner, more affordable alternative to purchasing oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve.&nbsp;According to RFA, opening the Australian market to ethanol imports would be good for the continent&rsquo;s economy and air quality, and would help spur more rapid development of a domestic biofuels industry.&nbsp;
<a href="http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001_-okwtnQP-ot5TkoHW7u7CJexMEVSDEO9D6PhIbPESUEx4w94xqerUfpFAdwvRCkQ2v9X_dYgLpuHo-O5eCirqnRIBEHcz-dW-1o2LX7JV5PhmrXTEBQYpkPjTDUPqurFg_hqhb97nH-kwy3JxMl8FRr_nIxql4VovY5RsIsSRMRZytzeSQtCSzywg2CpAtpwD5mLTPg_oXabGZNNCnFugpqG1XN7foVWI0S6HjMQpxxIDBykmxIf72E-2K2gqPvaQQbkp4rRiJQfMHytF__XlnBTHt9f0by&amp;c=AmAQJXX98BnG7lZOcn-BdeCiMWsqCgIPxkgaP6XJOsVC18QTtxpwiA==&amp;ch=SSSRM-gkclL7VNXs5uNc97H7cTHz49iPKxL1SoXefu7TFiSsHRq0Zg==" target="_blank">The letter</a>, from RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper, cited news reports of Australia&rsquo;s request for access to the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve &ldquo;as a hedge against potential oil supply disruptions that appear increasingly likely given the volatile situation in the Strait of Hormuz.&rdquo; Ethanol is a better option to protect Australian consumers from supply shocks, Cooper said.
Cooper wrote that part of the challenge Australia is facing with renewable fuels growth&mdash; biofuels represent less than 2 percent of the country&rsquo;s liquid transportation fuel supply&mdash;is the result of the 5 percent tariff and customs tax of A$0.401 per liter for ethanol imports. &ldquo;These severe measures have made fuel ethanol imports generally uncompetitive with gasoline and domestically produced ethanol,&rdquo; Cooper wrote in his letter to Angus Taylor, Australia&rsquo;s Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Removing or at least significantly reducing the tariff and custom tax barriers to imported ethanol does not necessitate a complex negotiation with the U.S. government over our Strategic Petroleum Reserve,&rdquo; Cooper added. &ldquo;Nor will it take much time.&nbsp;U.S. ethanol is available today for export to Australia.&nbsp;&hellip; U.S. ethanol can provide near-immediate relief to your transportation fuel supply shortage with the added benefit of providing Australia with a tangible demonstration of its commitment to carbon reduction.&rdquo;
Increasing ethanol use makes&nbsp;more sense than tapping into more petroleum imports, Cooper also wrote, especially since Australia is a seeking to reduce its carbon footprint as a party to the United Nation&rsquo;s Paris Agreement. When it comes to carbon reduction, ethanol is the clear winner over fossil fuels.
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In a letter sent today, the Renewable Fuels Association encouraged Australia's energy minister to strongly consider U.S. ethanol imports as a cleaner, more affordable alternative to purchasing oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

RFA to Australia: Choose ethanol, not petroleum reserve

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