[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6324 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6324

               To facilitate the importation of ethanol.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 19, 2008

 Mr. Udall of Colorado (for himself and Mr. Perlmutter) introduced the 
 following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
               To facilitate the importation of ethanol.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Imported Ethanol Facilitation Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States has levied a tariff on imported 
        ethanol equal to the excise tax credit for blending ethanol in 
        order to preclude foreign producers from benefitting from that 
        credit.
            (2) However, the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 
        will decrease the excise tax credit for blending ethanol from 
        $0.51 to $0.45 per gallon, but extend the $0.54 per gallon 
        temporary duty on imported ethanol.
            (3) The result of these changes will be to increase the 
        competitive disadvantage of ethanol imports in the United 
        States marketplace and transform a tariff designed to offset a 
        domestic subsidy into a real import barrier.
            (4) Erecting such an import barrier will tend to reduce the 
        amount of ethanol that will be brought into the United States 
        market from foreign producers, and thus will tend to increase 
        the price of fuel for American consumers, while increased 
        ethanol imports could possibly have the opposite result.
            (5) Erecting such an import barrier also can impede 
        development of a global biofuels marketplace that would permit 
        mutually beneficial trade between producing regions, including 
        the United States, that would assist in stabilizing both fuel 
        and food prices.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to ensure that the tariff 
on ethanol does not exceed the tax credit applicable to blenders of 
ethanol, to avoid erecting a new trade barrier to imports of ethanol 
while assuring that foreign blenders will not benefit from the tax 
credit, and to require a study of potential effects of further 
reduction in or elimination of the duty on ethanol.

SEC. 3. ETHANOL TAX PARITY.

    (a) In General.--The President shall--
            (1) reduce the temporary duty imposed on ethanol under 
        heading 9901.00.50 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 
        United States by an amount equal to the reduction in any 
        Federal income or excise tax credit under section 40(h), 
        6426(b), or 6427(e)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
        that occurs on or after January 1, 2009; and
            (2) take any other action necessary to ensure that the 
        temporary duty imposed on ethanol under such heading 9901.00.50 
        does not excced any Federal income or excise tax credit 
        applicable to ethanol under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
    (b) Effective Date.--Any action by the President under paragraph 
(1) or (2) of subsection (a) shall take effect as of the same day as 
the corresponding reduction or other change in the Federal income or 
excise tax credit under section 40(h), 6426(b), or 6427(e)(1), or other 
provision, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.

SEC. 4. STUDY OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF INCREASED ETHANOL IMPORTS.

    No later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Commerce shall submit to 
the Congress a report regarding the effects of the further reduction or 
elimination of the duty on ethanol on--
            (1) fuel supplies and fuel prices in the United States; and
            (2) domestic production of ethanol.
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