Recent claims in the media suggesting that India is importing and intends to import large quantities of ethanol from the United States (U.S.) for fuel blending are baseless and factually incorrect. As per the domestic policy framework, ethanol used for fuel blending under the Ethanol Blended with Petrol Programme is sourced entirely from domestic producers. There is no import of ethanol for fuel blending from the U.S.

Further, no concessions or commitments relating to the import of ethanol for fuel blending from the U.S. have been made in the India-U.S. Trade discussions. Accordingly, any suggestion of a policy change to permit large-scale imports of fuel ethanol from the U.S. is misleading. India’s fuel blending programme and ethanol procurement continues to be governed solely by India’s domestic policy requirements.