Prohibition of the use of taxpayers’ money to subsidise the use of biofuels produced by imported UCOs

U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has announced the introduction of a new bipartisan bill that would prohibit the use of taxpayer money to subsidise biofuels produced using imported foreign feedstocks, such as waste cooking oil from China and ethanol from Brazil.

The bill would also extend the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit. 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credits were passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act to make the U.S. more energy independent and to stimulate the production of biofuels using U.S.-produced feedstocks – opening up new markets for U.S. farmers.

In July, Brown called on Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the Biden administration to limit eligibility for the 45Z tax credit to renewable biofuels produced from domestic feedstocks. Brown’s bill would ensure that eligibility for the tax credit is limited to biofuels produced from domestic feedstocks.

Brown’s legislation would also extend the credit for 10 years, providing the U.S. ethanol industry with the time and financial incentives to build the infrastructure needed to produce sustainable jet fuel.