Ag Policy Blog

Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small said in a call to reporters Friday that plans to tell Brazilian officials the 18% tariff on ethanol is unfair when she meets with them on Saturday.

Torres Small is at a meeting of the G20 agriculture ministers this week in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.

Torres Small, who was formerly a Democratic member of Congress from New Mexico, said she raised the issue of sustainable aviation fuel with other agricultural ministers "as a way to grow the pie" for farmers around the world.

Torres Small also told DTN that when she will raise the issue of SAF again on Saturday when she holds a bilateral meeting with Brazilian officials. Torres Small said the Brazilian 18% tariff on ethanol is unfair because the United States has only a 2% tariff.

Torres Small said the theme of the G20 agricultural ministers' meeting had been "a just world and a sustainable planet" and the importance of agricultural productivity and innovation in achieving those goals.

Torres Small said the ministers reached agreement on a declaration, but that it did not include a condemnation of Russia's action in Ukraine, which have caused many problems in global food security.

Torres Small said she raised the issue of Russia's actions and that representatives from other countries agreed, but that the issue would be addressed in an addendum rather than in the basic document. Excluding the issue of Russia allowed the countries to reach consensus on a declaration, she said.

Torres Small said the ministers also supported the United Nations resolution declaring 2026 the International Year of the Woman Farmer, which the United States introduced.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said in a news release it welcomed the inclusion of fisheries and aquaculture and family farming in this year's G20 priorities.

FAO said Director-General QU Dongyu had spoken at the meeting and stressed the need for sustainable growth in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors to meet rising global food demand and address nutritional deficiencies, particularly in developing countries.

FAO has a "Blue Transformation" strategy related to fisheries and it "aims to ensure aquatic food systems continue feeding the world's growing population," he said.

In his speech, QU applauded the G20's recognition of family farmers' importance and reaffirmed FAO's commitment to supporting them through policy development, innovation, and capacity building, FAO said.

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture said in a news release that the ministers from its 34 member countries had met as the Southern Agricultural Council (CAS in Spanish) within the framework of the ministerial meeting of the G20 Agriculture Working Group, and discussed the importance of making science-based decisions on international trade.

"In that regard, they emphasized the value of biotechnology in combating food security challenges and insisted on questioning EU Regulation 1115/2023 on deforestation, stating that restrictive measures on environmental trade should be discussed broadly at a global level," IICA said.

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@nationaljournal.com

Follow him on social platform X @hagstromreport

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