Has a deal been reached to cap Renewable Identification Number (RIN) ethanol credits, or not? There seems to be a mixed message coming out of Washington. It seems to be anybody?s guess at this moment.
Ethanol opponent and oil-industry darling, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), has been a strong and vocal opponent against Ethanol and the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS). During an oil refiner rally outside the US Capitol building, Cruz was asked if a RIN cap deal had been reached through the Environmental Protection Agency?s (EPA) use of waivers. Cruz responded:
However, the confusion comes from United States Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue?s remarks that the administration had already given the refiners the RIN cap they were asking for.
Perdue has said that the waivers handed out by the EPA are destroying the demand for ethanol by almost 1.2 billion gallons. Perdue stated the EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was circumventing the volume requirements of 15 billion gallons, given to him by President Trump. The President has been silent on the waivers and the RIN cap. This silence could mean that his administration is trying to do what it can to appease refiners, without directly assaulting corn growers and ethanol producers.
