Brazil is toughening requirements for ethanol importers to protect domestic producers from an incoming surge of U.S. corn ethanol, a minister said on Monday, adding that he opposed the idea of new tariffs that could trigger costly retaliation.
Buyers of foreign ethanol will now have to follow a rule applied to Brazilian ethanol producers regarding minimum stocks to guarantee supplies in the market, according to a government decision published in the official gazette on Monday.
Energy Minister Fernando Coelho said the measure aims at giving “fair treatment” to importers and producers in the face of a “violent” increase in shipments from the United States.
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