08-02-07 Brazil and the US want to fast track an agreement on cooperation for biofuels production and trading in the Americas to increase supplies of the fuel as an additive to gasoline, an aide at the Brazilian foreign ministry told.
"Relations between the two countries have always been good on this issue. Now the US government has signalled it wants closer ties [over the issue of biofuels]," he said.

The decision was taken after talks in Brasília between US undersecretary of state for political affairs Nicholas Burns and his Brazilian counterpart Antonio Patriota. Patriota has been named Brazil's new ambassador to the Washington.
Among issues to be discussed is creating of standards for the production and trading of the fuel and the dissemination of US and Brazilian technology to increase ethanol production in the Americas, especially in Central America, the aide said.

"Brazil's foreign and development ministries have started talks with their US counterparts to start a pilot ethanol fuel production project in a Central American country," he said.
US and Brazilian officials also plan to have met with representatives from India, China, the EU and South Africa by end-February to discuss cooperation over biofuels.
"The technical issues will now be discussed by other ministries," said the Brazilian government aide.

The US produces approximately 20 bn litres per year of ethanol, mostly from corn, while Brazil produces some 16 litres per year, mainly from sugar cane. While Brazil is a net exporter of ethanol, the US is a net importer, bringing in about 13 % of its 22 litres per year demand.
Demand in the US is projected to rise in coming years as the government has signalled it wants to increase ethanol admixture in local fuels. Despite the agreement to move forward on talks, Brazilian ethanol producers are not happy about a $ 0.54/gallon import tax the US levies on their ethanol imports.