Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack took the stage at the 2024 Commodity Classic on Friday and used his appearance at the general session to announce plans for a trilateral trade meeting with agriculture ministers from Mexico and Canada in March.
The meeting will likely be held in Colorado at a date to be named later.
Vilsack said the meeting, which will include Canada’s agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay and Mexico agriculture secretary Victor Villalobos, has been set up to allow open communication with two key trade partners of the United States. Vilsack said he believes it will provide an opportunity to discuss mutual concerns between the countries.
The United States has been at odds with Canada for years on the restriction of American-made dairy products in the Canadian marketplace. In November 2023, a United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) dispute panel rejected U.S. claims that Canada was bending the rules of the agreement and not opening the dairy trade further.
Mexico and the United States have also had trade disagreements in recent years, including the ongoing dispute over Mexico’s decision to ban the import of genetically modified (GMO) white corn. Vilsack said he wanted to have conversations about his concerns with Mexico’s “approach to biotechnology in terms of corn.”
Vilsack explains delay in SAF updates
Instead of an expected announcement of updated Treasury Department guidance on the GREET system and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) tax credits for 2024 and 2025, Vilsack said he was not in a position to announce guidance on Friday, the previously announced deadline.
Vilsack said the USDA, EPA, Treasury Department, and other organizations are “measuring twice and cutting once,” in order to make sure the information used to inform the Treasury’s announcement is up to date.
“It’s incumbent upon us at USDA to be your voice in these inter-agency meetings to make sure our colleagues in other departments who don’t focus on this on a daily basis are aware,” Vilsack said. “In order to get the guidance right, we’re going to take a few more weeks — and I mean weeks, not months — to make sure that the guidance is correct, that it acknowledges the work that’s being done in reducing greenhouse gas emissions relative to transportation fuels, and the good work that’s being done out in the field with climate-smart practices.”
In a press conference following the general session, Vilsack said the process was difficult due to the evolving state of sustainability practices.
“I think we’re gonna get there, and I think when we get there at the end of the day, we’re going to do what needs to be done for this industry, which is to create multiple ways to get to the point that you can say, ‘Our fuel is more environmentally beneficial than jet fuel by a certain amount and should qualify for a fairly significant tax credit,’” Vilsack said.
Industry reaction to GREET delay
Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor
“The administration made a clear commitment to finalize this guidance no later than March 1. This delay is frustrating, but we’re optimistic that it’s happening for a productive reason. Ultimately, what’s most important is getting it right, and making sure that the resulting updates provide real opportunities for American farmers to contribute to the SAF market. Officials should follow the science behind Argonne-GREET, the most accurate model and the only one that accounts for all of the climate-smart innovations happening on farms across America’s Heartland. American bioethanol producers must be allowed to compete in the SAF marketplace. The alternative is making SAF from Brazilian sugar cane, or used cooking oil imported from China, instead of renewable crop-based feedstocks grown on American farms.”
Renewable Fuels Association (RFA)
“While we are pleased to hear progress is being made on the modified GREET model, we are disappointed by this additional delay,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “RFA is calling on the Interagency Working Group to complete this process as expeditiously as possible, while maintaining scientific integrity and honoring the commitment to incorporate a broad range of carbon reduction strategies. To meet the Biden Administration’s SAF goals, the marketplace needs certainty and clarity. Investment and innovation in SAF technologies will remain frozen until the model is finalized and additional guidance is issued.”
Cooper added, “Getting the modeling right could open the door for America’s farmers and ethanol producers to participate in an enormous decarbonization opportunity. But getting it wrong will strand investments and assure the failure of the Biden Administration’s climate objectives.”
American Coalition for Ethanol (ACE) CEO Brian Jennings
We are grateful for the leadership and tenacity of USDA Secretary Vilsack as the Interagency Working Group continues to work through key details of how the GREET model will be modified for the new 40B SAF and 45Z clean fuel production tax credits.
“Since 40B and 45Z are based on lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, every single point of carbon intensity has value, which makes it essential to get the details around any modifications to the GREET model right. That’s why we wrote the Interagency Working Group earlier this week to emphasize the importance of a GREET model for 40B and 45Z that includes meaningful carbon credits for climate-smart agriculture practices as illustrated by ACE’s multi-year project supported by USDA’s NRCS RCPP program. We also cautioned the Interagency Working Group against a final model approach which arbitrarily inflates land-use change penalties that have been disproven by real-world observations of what is actually occurring.”