United States of America: Expiration of subsidy and tariff on ethanol
Description
At midnight on December 31, 2011, the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit (VEETC) expired in the United States. Under this program, an ethanol blender would be eligible for a tax incentive in the amount of $0.45 per gallon of pure ethanol (minimum 190 proof) blended with gasoline. Only entities that have produced and sold or used the qualified mixture as a fuel in their trade or business were eligible for the tax credit.
At the same time, there also expired an additional tariff of 54 cents per gallon (i.e., 14.27 cents per liter) of ethanol from most countries. That tariff had been imposed to offset the VEETC. Ethanol imports from countries that are part of the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement, Caribbean Basin Initiative, and Andean Trade Preference Act had not been subject to the secondary duty provided the ethanol was produced with feedstocks from those nations (specific feedstock percentage requirements also applied). The main target of the import tariff was, by a process of elimination, Brazil.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
| Question | Result |
|---|---|
| Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations? | |
| Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered? | |
| Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government? | |
| Was such evidence identified? | |
| Is such evidence publicly available? | |
| Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives? | |
| Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken? | |
| Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory? | |
| Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation? |
Date Discovered:
Implemented: Yes
Date of inception: 31 Dec 2011
GTA Evaluation: Green
Source:
See the hyperlinked material in the description.
Government Response:
- 200 reads
