The European Union’s commitment to safeguarding its strategically important renewable ethanol industry in the trade agreement with the United States is especially important, given the recent rise in US ethanol exports to the EU and the UK, cautions ePURE, the European Renewable Ethanol Association.
According to several media reports, EU officials have confirmed that ethanol is not included in the scope of the July 28, 2025, EU-US Trade Agreement.
Likewise, ethanol is not mentioned in either the White House fact sheet or the European Commission fact sheet on the deal. This is a clear recognition of the strategic importance of EU renewable ethanol production.
As the details of the political trade agreement are worked out, ePURE emphasises that the EU must “remain committed to safeguarding its strategically important industries, including the European renewable ethanol sector.”
Flooded with US ethanol
Even with the existing tariff level, the EU market is being flooded with US ethanol, which ePURE highlights is produced with state support and tax credits, and with significantly lower energy costs.
The numbers are staggering: between 2021 and 2024, US exports of ethanol to the EU and UK rose from 363 million litres to 1.58 billion litres, according to official US government data.
It’s clear that any deal that reduces or eliminates EU tariffs on US ethanol would allow this flood to rise even more, overwhelming the European renewable ethanol sector. The knock-on effect on the EU’s agriculture sector, as well as domestic production of protein and biogenic carbon dioxide (bioCO2), would be significant – and thus counterproductive to EU ambitions for food and energy security, climate change mitigation and industrial and agricultural autonomy, ePURE warns.
According to ePURE, the 50 ethanol biorefineries around Europe are an important strategic asset to EU energy independence, food security, industrial autonomy and transport decarbonisation.
EU renewable ethanol production ensures a vital market for European farmers, who are already under intense pressure from trade agreements with countries where producers benefit from laxer environmental standards and cheaper labour costs.
Similarly, EU renewable ethanol producers already face higher energy costs – as much as ten times what US producers pay – and stricter sustainability criteria than their US counterparts, who also benefit from state support and tax credits.
Renewable ethanol from ePURE members and other EU producers reduced GHG emissions by an average of 79 percent compared to fossil fuels in 2024, according to newly certified data, with some companies reaching even 95 percent to 100 percent GHG emissions savings.
By contrast, the US barely meets the minimum emissions reduction requirements under the EU Renewable Energy Directive.
It makes no sense for the EU to want to import a product that has a lower emission-savings performance and a higher carbon footprint, especially when considering additional emissions from transporting it to the EU. European ethanol producers remain committed to helping the EU achieve its important goals for energy independence, food security, climate change mitigation, and industrial and agricultural autonomy. We will be vigilant in working with EU officials to ensure that the European ethanol industry remains viable, the statement said.
