The Trump administration, following up on its efforts to boost domestic biofuels production, is taking the next step to help the industry: targeting policies abroad that limit uptake of fuels made from U.S. crops.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a plan on September 16 to boost U.S. exports of biofuels, a growing industry crucial for soaking up the country’s bumper corn and soybean harvest. Exports of ethanol and other U.S.-made fuels like renewable diesel have surged with higher domestic production in recent years, but the plan signals that further growth depends too on changing policies abroad.
The report features a “Biofuels Roadmap” that including seeking to “reduce and remove restrictions placed on crop-based biofuels.” It specifically calls out the European Union, which has climate policies that encourage petroleum alternatives but cap the role of fuels made from crops.
“ACTION: Continue preventing EU influence over policies adopted by U.S. trading partners that place limits on biofuels and correcting their misinformation campaign,” the report says.
It also says the U.S. will continue to engage United Nations agencies developing alternative fuel policies, including the International Maritime Organization, to ensure that “other countries, like Brazil, do not design rules that shut out American biofuels.”
Other ideas include encouraging trade partners like Mexico and India to import more U.S. ethanol, and addressing implementation challenges in countries that have set but struggled to meet blend mandates.
U.S. ethanol exports hit record highs in 2025 and were trending higher over the first half of 2026, driven by its growing use globally as a gasoline blendstock, according to a separate USDA report released this week. Rising exports reflect the U.S. having a president “willing to do what is necessary to reach these markets,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said at an event on September 15 hosted by biofuels group Growth Energy.
But the ethanol industry’s increased reliance on exports in part reflects struggles boosting domestic sales. Various proposals to remove restrictions on sales of gasoline with up to 15% ethanol — so called E15 blends — have faltered in Congress this year because of backlash from oil companies.
