Larry Kudlow Honing Latest Plan to Buttress Biofuel Mandates
- Effort comes after criticism from ethanol allies, farmers
- Move meant to ensure refinery exemptions don’t undercut quotas
White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow is working to hone the Trump administration’s plan for bolstering biofuel-blending requirements after ethanol allies in politically important farm states complained the current proposal doesn’t do enough to compensate for waivers exempting some small refineries from the mandates.
Kudlow’s involvement was described by five people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing the administration’s private deliberations. The effort comes after biofuel producers, corn farmers and Midwest politicians blasted the Environmental Protection Agency’s current approach as inadequate, saying it flouted the terms of an Oct. 1 agreement to raise biofuel-blending requirements enough to fully offset refinery exemptions.