Coronavirus spurs new clash between Big Oil and Big Corn over US biofuels
NEW YORK: A fuel demand meltdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak in the United States has started up a new fight between the oil and agriculture industries over the nation’s biofuel policy, this time over whether the policy should be suspended or expanded as a result of the crisis.
The issue once again places Republican President Donald Trump in a tough spot between two important constituencies, both of which have been pushed to the brink of collapse by the coronavirus pandemic because of flagging consumption, disrupted supply chains and reduced workforces.
The oil refining industry and its backers have asked the Trump administration to help the industry weather the pandemic by reducing a regulatory requirement that they blend billions of gallons of corn-based ethanol into their gasoline each year, arguing it is a cost many facilities cannot currently afford.
