31/03/2026 (Agence Europe) – In a press release published on Monday 30 March, iEthanol urged the European Commission to totally exclude non-fuel ethanol from any tariff liberalisation as part of the ongoing negotiations on the EU-Philippines free trade agreement. The trade association warned that the European ethanol market was already “balanced and constrained”. The specific non-fuel ethanol market represents around 1.8 million tonnes and is entirely supplied by European production. “There is simply no absorption capacity on the EU market for either fuel or non-fuel ethanol. Any additional imports would directly replace European production. This market is already saturated and very open”, said iEthanol. When negotiating trade agreements with India and Indonesia, the Commission systematically treated ethanol as a sensitive product, thereby maintaining full customs duties. The association is calling for the same to be done under the EU-Philippines agreement. (PLD)