By Erin Voegele, Biomass Magazine.

On March 1, President Trump met with a variety of stakeholders from the biofuels and refining industries to continue the discussion on the Renewable Fuel Standard and renewable identification numbers (RINs). The event followed a Feb. 27 meeting in which Trump met with Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Joni Ernst, R-Iowa; Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to discuss the RFS and RINs. No deal on the biofuels program was reached at either meeting.

“Both sides made their case and the only agreement was to look at economic studies for impact,” Grassley said following the March 1 meeting. “No decisions were made. Low corn prices are already squeezing farmers’ bottom lines. If the RFS were undermined with a RIN price cap or waiver, that would be made even worse. Thousands of jobs in rural America could be lost. An emerging solution appears to be year-round E15, which would drive down RIN prices. After crossing the 15 billion gallon a year threshold, RIN prices would drop dramatically and remain low. And studies prove it.”