White House review of biofuel waiver plan pits farmers against refiners

By Jarrett Renshaw

(Reuters) -The White House is reviewing a high-stakes rule that could reshape the balance of interests between oil refiners and farmers by determining how – or even whether – to redistribute huge volumes of biofuel blending obligations that were recently exempted under the Renewable Fuel Standard.

The outcome, expected in the coming weeks, will determine the fate of billions of gallons of U.S. ethanol and biodiesel demand that is seen as vital to farmers who supply the corn and soybeans to produce biofuels, but costly to oil refiners that ensure the biofuels are mixed into the nation’s fuel supplies.

Biofuel mandates were created to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce reliance on fossil fuels, but the Trump administration has largely sidelined that climate goal wh