Senate Democratic Leader   Tom Daschle

Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle has introduced legislation to respond to concerns regarding rising imports of MTBE--methyl tertiary butyl ether--particularly from Saudi Arabia. The bill, S. 2391, requires the Commerce Department to determine if Saudi Arabia is providing subsidies to its MTBE producers which give them an unfair advantage in the U.S. oxygenate market. Should the Department find unfair subsidies, the bill imposes an import fee to offset the subsidies. Senator Daschle, an ardent supporter of the domestic ethanol industry, notes rising MTBE imports harm the ethanol industry and sales of ethanol. "These imports seem to be driven by unfair government subsidies, which increase U.S. dependence on foreign supplies, harm domestic producers and hurt American farmers who supply raw materials for oxygenated fuels," said Daschle.