Hmmm…was all that nothing but fake news last week on the Renewable Fuel Standard?
An Iowa TV news station reported today that contrary to the headlines across the country last week, President Donald Trump will not be issuing an executive order to change the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS)—at least as far as it pertains to ethanol blending.
Last week, Carl Icahn, the owner of CVR Refining and an upaid Trump advisor, made national news when it was announced that he and Trump had reached an agreement to change the controversial RFS.
Stories ran reporting that Icahn, an outspoken petroleum advocate, had apparently won Trump over to the idea of issuing an executive order that would shift the burden of blending ethanol per RFS requirements from petroleum companies to gasoline retailers.
Iowa, home to the biggest ethanol companies and proponents in the nation, got some good news today from a top politician that represents the state, U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley.
“I inquired about whether such an executive order was going to be issued, and there was some satisfaction coming from the fact that I got back an answer that such an executive order was not going to be written up by the president of the United States,” Grassley told whotv.com.
Ethanol proponents, such as the Iowa Renewable Fuels Association, oppose any changes that they believe would destabilize the RFS.
Reuters reported Friday that the Whitehouse had denied making any RFS-related deal that would change ethanol blending requirements. Reuters also reported that shares in Icahn’s company, CVR Refining, have increased 80 percent since Trump took office.
