NOPA Shares Tax Policy Priorities with Key Congressional Committee
Association submits comments as House Ways & Means Committee prepares for expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act with a hyperfocus on 45Z and domestic feedstock requirement.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 15, 2024 – The National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) today shared the association’s views on key tax provisions in comments submitted to the House Ways & Means Committee. The association is focused on policies that drive long-term growth in low carbon fuel demand, specifically the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit.
“NOPA members are interested in continuing investment in this emerging field, and additional certainty in the tax code would signal to NOPA members to continue to increase its capacity creating new jobs and provide more support to U.S. farmers through the additional purchase of homegrown U.S. soybeans,” NOPA President & CEO Kailee Tkacz Buller wrote.
NOPA’s comments emphasized the importance of a domestic feedstock requirement for the 45Z tax credit.
“The 45Z tax credit should benefit, not undermine, the U.S. agriculture supply chain and as such NOPA supports a domestic feedstock requirement for 45Z: While NOPA strongly supports free trade and open markets, we believe that IRA tax credits were intended to benefit – not undermine – U.S. industry,” Buller wrote.
The California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and the 40B Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Credit are driving demand for low carbon intensity imported waste feedstocks but their models do not account for the full lifecycle of feedstocks like imported used cooking oil (UCO) and tallow. As such, biodiesel fuel blenders are seeking these imports, rather than home-grown commodities, for biofuel use.
Imported feedstock volumes into the United States have skyrocketed in 2023 and 2024, displacing domestically produced feedstocks. From January 2022 through August 2024, the U.S. imported over 11.3 billion pounds of UCO and tallow – more than double the imports over a 20 year period.
“If the 45Z tax credit is implemented January 1, 2025, under this status quo market dynamic, it is anticipated there will be even greater demand for imported feedstocks and domestic feedstocks will become the residual supply for biofuels,” Buller wrote.
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Organized in 1930, the National Oilseed Processors Association (NOPA) represents the U.S. soybean, canola, flaxseed, safflower seed, and sunflower seed-crushing industries. NOPA’s membership is engaged in the processing of oilseeds for meal and oil that are utilized in the manufacturing of food, feed, renewable fuels, and industrial products. NOPA’s 17 member companies operate over 70 softseed and soybean solvent extraction plants across 21 states, crushing over 95% of all soybeans processed in the United States, the equivalent to more than 2 billion bushels annually. More information at www.NOPA.org