LOS ANGELES, March 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Friday finalized record biofuel blending requirements in the program's 20th year, requiring oil companies to mix record amounts of corn-based ethanol and soy-based biodiesel and renewable diesel into the nation's fuel supply.
The Trump administration announced the decision at the White House Great American Agriculture Celebration, where the EPA said the rule was aimed at "putting American farmers first and promoting American energy independence."
The mandates cover 2026 and 2027, locking in 15 billion gallons (56.8 billion liters) of corn-based ethanol to be blended into gasoline each year and requiring a more than 60 percent increase in soy-based biodiesel and renewable diesel compared with 2025.
From 2028, fuels and oils produced abroad will earn only half the regulatory credit that domestically produced feedstocks receive, a measure EPA said would serve the goal of "reducing America's reliance on foreign oil."
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the rule "will create a 31 billion U.S. dollars value for American corn and soybean oil for biofuel production in 2026, which is 2 billion more than in 2025," adding that "our farmers are stepping up to grow American energy dominance."
The American Soybean Association said the new requirements "will increase soybean oil use, boost U.S. soybean processing and grow domestic biofuel markets" for American growers.
Geoff Cooper, president and chief executive of the Renewable Fuels Association, said the rule "locks in the highest-ever renewable fuel volume obligations and provides clarity for farmers, ethanol producers, oil refiners, and fuel distributors alike."
However, critics argued the rules divert an outsized share of U.S. food crops and animal feed stocks toward fuel production.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) data showed that ethanol production already consumes roughly 40 percent of the entire U.S. corn harvest, approximately 140 million metric tons per year, while the Breakthrough Institute, using a different baseline, said the program steers more than one-third of U.S. corn toward fuel.
The squeeze is sharper in soybean oil markets. A USDA report projected record soybean processing at 69 million metric tons, alongside falling exports and a more than 70 percent drop in soybean oil available for export as supplies are redirected to renewable diesel. Another USDA report found the boom has reshaped the global vegetable oil trade, turning the United States into a net soybean oil importer in 2023.
The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, the main refining industry group, said compliance costs could reach approximately 70 billion dollars per year, warning that those costs would ultimately be passed to consumers at the pump.
The Breakthrough Institute said Friday that EPA was "mandating an unprecedented amount of crop-based biofuels" that "raises costs for consumers and increases pressure on agricultural land."
Researchers affiliated with the International Food Policy Research Institute have called for more flexible policies to ease pressure on global food prices, especially in lower-income importing countries.
Soybean oil futures rose following the announcement, with analysts citing mandated volumes and policy adjustments as key drivers. ■