No commitments relating to ethanol import from US for fuel blending under FTA talks: Govt

The government on Thursday clarified that no concessions or commitments have been made on the import of ethanol for fuel blending from the US as part of the ongoing India-US trade pact negotiations, dismissing recent media reports as "baseless and factually incorrect."

In a statement, the commerce and industry ministry said India's ethanol blending programme and procurement continue to be governed entirely by domestic policy requirements.

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It said ethanol used under the Ethanol Blended with Petrol (EBP) Programme is sourced exclusively from domestic producers, and there is no import of ethanol from the US for fuel blending.



The ministry also rejected reports suggesting that India plans to import large quantities of US ethanol for blending purposes.

"No concessions or commitments relating to the import of ethanol for fuel blending from the U.S. have been made in the India-US trade discussions. Accordingly, any suggestion of a policy change to permit large-scale imports of fuel ethanol from the US is misleading," it said.

(With PTI inputs)