You’re also right that there is no embargo on Brazilian ethanol. It was my own misconception. This article from the Washington Post states that there is a 54-cent per gallon tariff on most imported ethanol, and it is unlikely that the US will lift the tariff until 2009.

I think the interesting point that Altieri is making is that the US hasn’t been welcoming to South American ethanol in the past, but now that the government realizes it needs South America to reach its own ethanol goals, the US is admiring and embracing it. It makes you wonder how we’re thinking about our long-term energy plans, and how we treat other countries in regards to it.

Bob is very correct, Altieri is wrong about imports of Brazilian ethanol into the US. There has never been an embargo or moratorium on sugarcane ethanol from Brazil (nor on Argentine ethanol).

Makes me wonder about the rest of what Altieri says. Much of it sounds like a regurgitation of what certain NGOs have been claiming based on lots of shaky suppositions and worst-case projections presented as certainties. The recent ECLAC/FAO report is a bit more balanced, raising some of the same concerns but also pointing out potential positives and how to avoid the perceived pitfalls.

And BTW, for Altieri to equate Argentina’s history in ethanol production with Brazil’s is puzzling. Brazil has been involved in it far, far longer (you can trace it back to the 1930’s) and far more seriously by just about every measure you can think of.

Bob
Sao Paulo