U.S. oil industry seeks unusual alliance with Farm Belt
The U.S. oil industry is seeking to forge an alliance with the nation’s corn growers and biofuel producers to lobby against the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles, but is so far meeting a cool reception, according to multiple sources familiar with the discussions.
The effort to promote liquid fuels and combat expected federal subsidies for electric vehicles marks an unusual attempt by the petroleum industry to join with its long-time rivals, reflecting the scale of its concern over President Joe Biden’s measures to combat climate change and tamp down fossil fuels.
While the oil industry and biofuels producers are competitors for space in America’s gas tanks, they share a desire to ensure a future for internal combustion engines.
The effort also reflects the shifting political landscape in Washington. The oil industry’s influence has waned since Biden replaced Donald Trump as president, but the farm belt remains a powerful political constituency.
The American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM), an oil refining trade group, confirmed it has been contacting state and national representatives of the corn and biofuel industries in recent weeks to seek support for a policy that would reduce the carbon intensity of transport fuels and block efforts to provide federal subsidies for electric vehicles.
That proposal would be an alternative to Biden’s goal of electrifying the nation’s vehicle fleet and would ensure a market for liquid fuels like gasoline and corn-based ethanol.
The refining sector has previously made attempts to find common ground with their biofuel rivals, but the latest efforts have taken on an added sense of urgency given the Biden agenda.
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