Earth Equity News

McCain: Eliminate Subsidies for Ethanol. By Ayesha Rascoe, Reuters, October 15, 2008. "Republican presidential candidate John McCain said on Wednesday that if elected he would eliminate the tariff on sugar cane-based ethanol and cut a number of subsidies for ethanol. 'I would eliminate the tariff on imported sugar cane-based ethanol from Brazil,' McCain said in a televised debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama. McCain also said, that unlike Obama, he opposed subsidies for ethanol because they distort the market and could lead to inflation. U.S. President George W. Bush also opposes the 54-cent-per-gallon tariff on ethanol imports that Congress extended this year until 2010. The tariff has limited U.S. ethanol imports from countries with extensive biofuel programs such as Brazil, which produces 27.5 billion liters of ethanol annually. In addition, McCain said he would cut the $200 million Market Access Program run by the U.S. Agriculture Department that shares the cost to promote U.S. agriculture exports overseas."