As the U.S. ethanol industry celebrates record exports and expects key regulatory actions in the near future, the administrator of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and the leader of EPA’s important Office of Air and Radiation will be onstage at the Renewable Fuels Association’s National Ethanol Conference, Feb. 24–26 in Orlando.
On Wednesday, Feb. 25, attendees will hear from Aaron Szabo, assistant administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Air and Radiation. This office oversees implementation of Clean Air Act programs, including the Renewable Fuel Standard. Szabo is expected to address the work of the Trump administration on ethanol, including EPA’s proposal creating the highest-ever renewable volume obligations under the RFS, the issuance of emergency waivers allowing year-round sale of E15, and the agency’s swift efforts to reform vehicle tailpipe GHG standards and remove the federal EV mandate.
The following day, Daniel Whitley, administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service, will provide an update on global trade policy issues affecting the ethanol industry at a time when we are seeing record exports of ethanol—more than 2 billion gallons in 2025. As the Trump administration has focused on new trade agreements around the world, expanding ethanol exports has been a priority in many of them.
“Given the current state of play in the industry, with exports unleashed and key Renewable Fuel Standard decisions looming, we are very grateful to have the USDA and EPA represented by these two leaders at our conference,” said RFA President and CEO Geoff Cooper. “These two policymaker perspectives will give us a sense of the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for our nation’s ethanol producers.”
Since 1996, the National Ethanol Conference has been the nation’s most widely attended executive-level conference for the ethanol industry, where sessions featuring globally renowned speakers are interspersed with numerous networking opportunities to help the industry connect and collaborate. Last year in Nashville, RFA hosted industry stakeholders from 37 states and 18 foreign countries. Click here for more information and to register. For updates, follow NEC on X (formerly Twitter) at @EthanolConf, and track social media posts with the tag #RFANEC.
