News and Notes - July 30, 2008

Feature Article

Brazil presses US, EU to include ethanol in any WTO trade pact
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/28/business/EU-WTO-Ethanol.php

You will notice that the International News section of today’s email is loaded with articles about Brazil, WTO talks, and ethanol tariffs. This article provides an overview of the entire situation. The EU has given ground, reducing tariffs on certain quantities of Brazillian ethanol (450 million gallons). However, the US has been reluctant to reduce its 54 cents per gallon tariff. Even the EU tariff excemption was met with negativity by the Brazilian sugarcane industry in that it was not enough! The US is the world’s largest producer of ethanol and Brazil is second. The article briefly mentions that Brazil has had issues getting its ethanol seen as an environmentally friendly alternative to gasoline. With concerns about industry practices there, the country may find it difficult to find any support in the US for tariff reductions, among environmentalists, agriculturalists, and industrialists alike.


US News

POET signs cooperative agreement with DOE for first phase of commercial cellulosic ethanol project
http://www.poet.com/news/showRelease.asp?id=96&year=2007&categoryid=8

Corn ethanol stirs passion in Michigan's alternative energy debate
http://blog.mlive.com/businessinnovation/2008/07/corn_ethanol_stirs_passion_in.html

Senators introduce bill to create ethanol pipelines
http://www.ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=4528

Research drives improvements in efficient biofuel processing (Colorado)
http://www.engineerlive.com/international-oil-and-gas-engineer/environment-solution/20490/research-drives-improvements-in-efficient-biofuel-processing.thtml

National Corn Growers Association speaker tells Lake Land audience ethanol is part of energy solution, not the entire answer
http://www.herald-review.com/articles/2008/07/30/money/1034445.txt

Interstate Transmission Superhighways: Paving the Way to a Low-carbon Future
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/story?id=53193

Cobb County (GA) Considers Own Biofuel Plant
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7041284&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

Building Better Biofuels
http://www.biomassmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=1833

Microbial Tricks for the Cellulosic Ethanol Trade
http://www.ethanolproducer.com/article.jsp?article_id=4450

International News

Brazil Seeks New Options To Fight Ethanol Tariffs
http://www.cattlenetwork.com/Content.asp?ContentID=240680

Brazil wants market on both sides of the pond
http://www.ethanolproducer.com/takingstalk/post.jsp?blogPostID=17

Less dependency on biofuels in EU climate plan
http://www.reuters.com/article/gc08/idUSL563326120080729

Brazil defends biofuel's merits
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7528323.stm

Marathon WTO talks collapse in U.S.-India farm row
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080729/ts_nm/trade_wto_dc_77