WASHINGTON, D.C.—Growth Energy, the nation’s largest biofuel trade association, issued the following statement from CEO Emily Skor today in response to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) announcement of a Section 301 investigation into China’s implementation of its commitments under the Phase One Agreement:
“The U.S. cannot stand by while its trading partners fail to live up to their commitments, particularly when farmers and rural communities across the country are facing a period of significant economic challenges. We applaud USTR for taking a closer look at China’s failure to fully deliver on its Phase One commitments. While China briefly resumed imports of U.S. ethanol immediately following the agreement, those purchases represented baseline trade levels rather meaningful increases and have since dissipated—they did not reflect the sustained market access that American producers were promised.
“For years, China’s tariffs and non-tariff barriers have prevented U.S. ethanol producers from competing in one of the world’s fastest-growing fuel markets. Growth Energy raised these concerns in our March submission to USTR regarding unfair trade practices, and we welcome USTR’s renewed focus on holding China accountable.
“Ensuring fair and reciprocal access to global markets is essential to American energy dominance, and to the strength of America’s farm economy and rural communities. We look forward to continuing to work with USTR and the Administration to restore full and fair access for U.S. biofuels in international markets.”
Learn more about the USTR investigation here.