USDA Rolls Out Four-Part Plan to Expand U.S. Biofuels Exports

The American Biofuels Trade Outlook

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released the American Biofuels Trade Outlook on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, a four-part plan unveiled by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins at last week's 17th Annual Growth Energy Biofuel Summit in Washington, D.C. The framework is designed to build on 2025's record U.S. ethanol export performance, remove restrictions on American biofuels and secure new market opportunities for U.S. farmers of corn and soybeans, with stated goals of supporting agricultural sustainability and creating rural jobs. According to OPIS, USDA said the plan "builds upon 2025's record U.S. ethanol export performance, removes restrictions to American biofuels and secures new market opportunities for U.S. farmers."

The Four Pillars of the Export Push

USDA's plan rests on four pillars identified by Rollins. Pillar one seeks to boost on-road ethanol blending by identifying breakthrough markets such as those in Latin America and Southeast Asia, which Rollins described as "prime for E10 adoption," while addressing implementation challenges in roughly 20 markets that already have E10 policies. Pillar two targets what Rollins called limits imposed by several economies, including the European Union, on crop-based biofuels, with the aim of opening more markets for on-road transportation, aviation and marine fuel. The EU currently caps crop-based biofuels including ethanol at 7% of total fuel use to balance land use for food and other products. Pillar three uses USDA programs and the American First Trade Promotion Program to reach untapped buyers, specifically naming India, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam. Pillar four engages the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to seek more equitable treatment and to prevent competitors such as Brazil from crafting regulations that disadvantage U.S. producers.

Building on Record 2025 Ethanol Exports

USDA framed the outlook against a record 2025 export year. The department said U.S. producers shipped a record 2.2 billion gallons of ethanol across the world in 2025, a figure worth $4.7 billion, and said the result "reflects the hard work of America's farmers." The United States remained the world's dominant producer, accounting for more than half of global ethanol output in 2024 at 16.23 billion gallons out of a worldwide total of 31.31 billion gallons, according to the Renewable Fuels Association as quoted by the U.S. Department of Energy. Brazil ranked second that year with 8.98 billion gallons.

Capacity Footprint and Pipeline Projects

Industrial Info Resources said it is tracking 199 operational ethanol plants in the United States with combined capacity just under 18 billion gallons per year, describing growth as "very flat" at less than 5% over the last 10 years. The firm also identified three grassroots ethanol projects with a total investment value of $925 million and completion dates from 2026 to 2030, located in Arizona ($500 million), California ($350 million) and Florida ($75 million). The top U.S. ethanol-producing states by operational unit capacity are Iowa at 4.8 billion gallons per year, Nebraska at 2.4 billion gallons per year and Illinois at 2 billion gallons per year, according to Industrial Info Resources data.

Market Access Hurdles and Competitive Pressures

Rollins cast the plan as a response to both overseas limits and intensifying competition. "It is essential that we open more markets to our U.S. biofuels for on-road transportation, for aviation, and for marine fuel markets," she said. The U.S. push comes as corn and soybean farmers in the Midwest compete with international heavyweights such as Brazil, and as the EU maintains its 7% cap on crop-based biofuels, a ceiling designed to preserve land for food and other product demands. The plan's fourth pillar signals that U.S. officials view rulemaking at ICAO and IMO as a front line in keeping Brazilian and other competitors from locking U.S. ethanol out of marine and aviation fuel growth.

Implementation Signals to Track

Key near-term implementation signals include the specific countries USDA engages under the American First Trade Promotion Program in pillar three, the resolution of implementation challenges in the roughly 20 existing E10 markets and any shifts in EU policy on the 7% cap for crop-based biofuels. Progress on the ICAO and IMO tracks under pillar four, together with the build-out of the three tracked grassroots ethanol projects worth a combined $925 million between 2026 and 2030, will offer further evidence of whether the export plan translates into new sales.