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Boxer: Brazil played an “important role” in favour of a globalized
ethanol industry. (Photo UNICA/ Carlos Dias)
Brazilian efforts over several years to consolidate an international market for ethanol have already produced concrete results according to Barbara Boxer, a U.S. Senator from the state of California who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee in Washington, D.C. Recognized as a powerful voice in defence of the environment, Boxer visited the headquarters of the Brazilian Sugarcane Industry Association (UNICA) in Sao Paulo on April 5th, accompanied by members of her technical staff and the U.S. Consul General in São Paulo, William Popp.
“Brazil has played and continues to play an important role in favour of the global progress of the ethanol industry as well as in the creation of better conditions to structure this market on a global level”, said Boxer after watching a presentation about the sugarcane sector in Brazil conducted by UNICA’s Corporate Communications Director, Adhemar Altieri.
In the past, Boxer always positioned herself in favour of free trade. She was part of the group of representatives in the U.S. Congress who led the effort to eliminate subsidies for corn ethanol producers and the US$0,54 per gallon tariff imposed by the U.S. on imported ethanol. As 2011 drew to an end, the U.S. Congress allowed the tariff and the subsidy package, which cost American taxpayers US$6 billion per year, to expire after more than three decades of virtually unopposed renewals.
According to Altieri, the visit by Senator Boxer and the significant level of interest demonstrated by the Senator and her aides about issues involving the Brazilian sugarcane industry are clear indications that a broader, more complete opinion of sugarcane ethanol is now prevalent among the U.S. political establishment. “Senator Boxer is part of a now significant share of U.S. legislators who are well equipped to better evaluate essential questions, such as energy, in a more pragmatic manner, without bowing to specific interests. She has always supported the position defended by UNICA in the U.S., in favour of free trade and of all the contributions that it can bring to consumers and the production of ethanol in that country, which becomes more efficient when the need to compete equally with the imported product becomes a factor.”
To download the presentation to Senator Boxer by Adhemar Altieri, click here. |
