EU drops US bioethanol trade investigation

The European Union is no longer investigating whether the United States illegally subsidized and dumped bioethanol on the European market, Reuters reports.

The European Commission, the executive body of the European Union, ended its 11-month investigation after finding no evidence that the United States had taken such action. However, EU trade spokesman John Clancy said that “investigations in both [anti-subsidy and anti-dumping] cases are still ongoing and so no conclusions have been drawn yet.”

A document seen by Reuters determined that the United States was no longer subsidizing bioethanol and that the commission had determined that retaliatory action “would not be appropriate at this stage.” 

According to a source, the case could be dropped entirely unless the United States were to reintroduce the ethanol blender’s tax credit sometime within the next six months.

The United States allowed an ethanol excise tax credit to expire this year, eliminating a 45-cent subsidy per gallon of corn ethanol mixed with gasoline. 

The subsidy had been under fire from environmental and financial watchdogs for years, totaling approximately $6 billion annually and $30.5 billion during its lifetime, according to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). 

Prices for corn this year have been particularly high due to a stubborn drought that affected much of the country and raised concerns about bioethanol use.

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