Canada Retaliates with Tariffs, US Ethanol Opportunities Abound

Canada is escalating its trade fight with the U.S., announcing new tariffs of up to 50% on hundreds of American products. The Canadian duties take effect on September 8 and are in retaliation for roughly $20 billion in U.S. tariffs imposed on Canadian goods after trade negotiations failed. 25% tariffs will be placed on fish and aquaculture products, as well as cheese and curd; whey products, and some milk and cream exports will face tariffs of up to 50%.

Ethanol is a major topic of discussion as Guatemala prepares to launch its E10 program. The country imported 100,000 gallons just last year from the U.S., totaling more than 13 million gallons before the program's official launch, U.S. Grains and Bioproducts Council past chair Mark Wilson says that strong start is just the beginning of what the market could mean for U.S. ethanol production.

“Japan is going from ETBE, which they're using about 200,000 altogether ethanol gallons in that to E10 by 2030, I believe it is, and that's going to be a 1.4 billion gallon market. And Mexico is also they're looking like things are going to get going in that market, and that'll be another 1.6 billion gallon market just to our south. And so those are coming. Vietnam's moving toward E10. “

The U.S. plans to bring an additional 1 billion gallons of ethanol online within the next 36 months.