Overview
- Senate committees began formal debate on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, on an executive-backed bill that would make a 15% ethanol cut and a 10% biodiesel cut mandatory within a year of approval.
- The draft would create an electronic spot market with monthly import-parity price caps, limit the role of petroleum companies in biofuel supply, and set the law’s term at 15 years to give long-term certainty.
- Industry groups including CIARA-CEC, the Centro Azucarero and maize ethanol chambers publicly backed the proposal as a way to spur competition, reduce bureaucracy and attract investment.
- The bill requires that volumes used to meet the mandatory cuts come from Argentine-licensed plants and national feedstocks, guarantees minimum shares for cane and maize ethanol, and restricts imports except in exceptional cases.
- The government warned higher biodiesel blends raise diesel costs and reduce fuel tax revenue while CIARA-CEC criticized a subset of small biodiesel plants for underinvesting in feedstock, leaving the measure politically contested as committees negotiate changes.