The Renewable Fuels Association (RFA) recently expressed appreciation to the Trump administration for its efforts to enforce the 2019 trade agreement with China, noting that Beijing has not met its commitments to expand imports of U.S. ethanol and distillers grains. In comments submitted to the U.S. Trade Representative, the RFA urged the United States to impose reciprocal duties on Chinese agricultural products in response.
RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper said the association is grateful for the administration’s commitment to ensuring fair and reciprocal trade with China. “We applaud USTR for taking a closer look at China’s failure to deliver on its Phase One commitments, which has resulted in a lost market opportunity for U.S. ethanol producers and farmers and caused significant financial losses,” he wrote.
Cooper highlighted that China purchased only 58 percent of the U.S. goods and services it pledged to buy in 2020 and 2021 under the Phase One Agreement signed in 2019. Rather than purchasing the additional $200 billion in goods promised for that period, China ended up falling $11.6 billion short of even meeting the baseline level of imports.
Regarding ethanol specifically, China bought just 31.7 million gallons from the United States in 2020, valued at just under $51 million. In 2021, the volume rose to slightly more than 100 million gallons worth $162 million. Since then, U.S. ethanol exports to China have dropped to nearly zero, mirroring declines seen in distillers grains trade.
“With farmers and rural communities across the nation facing serious economic challenges, it is essential that our trading partners honor their obligations and be held accountable when they do not,” Cooper said. He added that countries must negotiate in good faith to establish stronger, more durable trade agreements. Cooper stressed that China must restore its agricultural purchase commitments under the Phase One Agreement or face reciprocal measures for failing to comply.
