Canada’s ethanol sector isn’t as wary about a U.S. country-of-origin labelling proposal as the beef sector was.
Last week, retired general Wesley Clark, co-chair of Growth Energy, called on the United States Congress and the White House to “dramatically enhance” the market transparency of the nation’s fuel supply by requiring a national standard of country-of-origin labelling for fuel.
Growth Energy is a U.S. renewable fuel lobby group with strong ties to Poet, the largest ethanol producer in the United States.
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The group said its Label My Fuel initiative would create a COOL standard similar to those employed for apples, beef, cars and coffee. The goal is to help create consumer awareness of the costs and national security implications of the nation’s addiction to foreign oil.
“The American people deserve to know the truth about the hidden costs of oil. The neighbourhood filling station doesn’t pump neighbourhood gas, it pumps a product of foreign origin that costs consumers and taxpayers billions of dollars every year,” said Clark.
“It’s past time for the American people to understand what our dependence on foreign oil costs our country and what they can do to help stop it.”
The U.S. implemented COOL regulations for the beef and pork sectors in September 2008. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association estimates the new law caused losses of $90 per head from October 2008 to March 2009. Interest in purchasing Canadian cattle has since improved, although U.S. buyers continue to discount prices.
In May, Canada launched a World Trade Organization challenge of the U.S. COOL regulations.
Gordon Quaiattini, president of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, isn’t concerned about a similar disruption of Canadian ethanol sales into the U.S. market if the COOL for fuel proposal gathers steam.
He said foreign ethanol and biodiesel are not the targets of the Growth Energy initiative.
“The idea of labelling oil imports with country of origin labelling is all about energy security in the U.S. and sensitizing Americans to the issue of imported oil coming from regimes that do not share American values,” said Quaiattini in an e-mail response.
“We are confident that made-in-Canada renewable fuels would be welcomed at pumps across North America.”
The U.S. Department of Energy has determined the country’s dependence on foreign oil has cost taxpayers more than $7 trillion over the last 30 years, with the U.S. sending as much as $500 billion a year overseas.
“America’s dependence on foreign oil has a staggering impact on both our national and economic security. Supply disruptions and sudden price hikes have shocked the wallets and pocketbooks of everyday Americans one too many times,” said Clark, in making the announcement at the 2009 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois.
“The American people deserve to know more about the gasoline they purchase every day, where it comes from and where their hard-earned dollars ultimately go every time they fill up their cars and trucks. Most Americans don’t want their paychecks going to Venezuela and other regimes that don’t agree with and support the U.S.”
Tom Buis, Growth Energy chief executive officer, said U.S. ethanol is the only existing alternative to gasoline today that is creating jobs, cutting greenhouse gases and reducing dependence on foreign oil.
“Country-of-origin labelling for fuel will let consumers know if they are pumping a domestic-made fuel, like ethanol, or fuel from a foreign source,” he said.
