Brazil ethanol sales to Japan to sputter as Tokyo bends to Trump

If a US-Mexico trade war breaks out and Mexico puts tariffs on US corn, at least American producers will have an alternative outlet (however temporary - and that'd be great for Mexican agriculture but terrible for Mexican consumers). There is a limit to the amount of uncertainty Trump sows that industry can digest without consequence.

One key point is missing in this article, one that should environmentalists change their perception on “clear” Brazilian ethanol: while its car emission is much cleaner than gasoline, Brazilian sugarcane producers burn the remains of the harvest in a fire so huge that it zeroes any environmental gain output. This fire is so toxic, it is done hidden in the middle of the night and causes cities nearby to suffer an ash rain that pollutes everything, and populations near the ethanol plants use millions of gallons of water to clean up the mess. Of course, this is all omitted from Brazilian gov’t selling “clean” ethanol abroad. So, in the end, US ethanol may be cleaner that it’s Brazilian version.

Hmmm... Japan was already struggling and failing to meet greenhouse gas CO2 emissions targets after Fukushima and the shut-down of her NPPs. Bowing to Trump makes no sense at all globally, but perhaps Japan can blend Brazilian with US ethanol for a slightly dirtier result here, and find a diplomatic mix to satisfy all of the people some of the time.

こちらは家庭用エタノールにも影響がありますか？偶然今日はうちのビンは古いと見つけて、新たしいのを買ったばかりです。(Does this affect also merely household-use ethanol? By chance, I happened to notice that our bottle was old and to buy a new one today.)