Fuel Retailers Press for Simpler Tax Policy Before Biofuels Collapse:  “Time to Bring Back Biofuel Policies that Address Affordability”

NATSO, representing truck stops and travel plazas, SIGMA: America’s Leading Fuel Marketers, and the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) expressed serious concern with the “Section 45Z” Clean Fuel Production Credit.

The U.S. Treasury Department was tasked with writing guidelines that would create a viable regulatory framework for ‘45Z’ and bolster the flailing U.S. biofuels market. But years of regulatory reviews, public comments, copious stakeholder input, and Congressional reevaluation, can’t alter the fact that ‘45Z’ is a giant step backward for American biofuel policy.  NACS, NATSO, and SIGMA, which represent 90 percent of retail fuel sales, urge Congress and the Administration to support simpler biofuel policies that would quickly reinvigorate biodiesel consumption and higher ethanol blends while enhancing the economy and energy market security.

“As Americans are navigating affordability challenges, now would be a great time to reinstate a tax policy that actually lowers the price consumers pay at the pump. Although the Treasury Department has done its best to make lemonade out of lemons, ‘45Z’ simply will not lower fuel prices,” said David Fialkov, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs for NATSO and SIGMA. “To add insult to injury, today’s proposed rule will not even improve demand for biofuels, nor will it generate meaningful support for American farmers by increasing demand for corn or soybeans.

“45Z doesn’t help farmers and it doesn’t help consumers,” Fialkov continued. “It is past time for lawmakers and regulators to acknowledge that ‘45Z’ is too complicated and flawed and it should be replaced with simpler tax incentives that lower fuel prices and support American farmers. How much longer should farmers be expected to wait before ‘45Z’ begins delivering benefits for them? We simply can’t afford to continue walking down this path when better, simpler solutions exist.”

“The transition away from the Biodiesel Tax Credit to the ‘45Z’ production credit instituted a catastrophic decline in biofuels consumption that hurts the economy,” said NACS Deputy General Counsel Matt Durand. “The Trump Administration inherited this unworkable mess. Congress can fix it by bringing back the Biodiesel Tax Credit, which has a proven track record of delivering lower prices to consumers while benefitting farmers and biofuel producers.”

NATSO, SIGMA and NACS urge the Administration to pursue more meaningful and measurable biofuel policies — such as reinstating the Biodiesel Tax Credit — that can quickly revive biodiesel consumption and mitigate the damage caused by ‘45Z’ while enhancing the economy and energy market security. 

In 2025, biodiesel consumption plummeted to 960 million gallons through the end of October from more than 2 billion gallons in 2024. Newly released Environmental Protection Agency data underscores the continued downward spiral of domestic biofuel consumption. Tradable credits known as Renewable Identification Numbers used to demonstrate compliance with the Renewable Fuel Standard dropped 22 percent for biodiesel in 2025 compared with the prior year. Ethanol RINs also declined, further highlighting that ‘45Z’ is not providing support for farmers.

Today’s proposal from Treasury underscores the need to reinstate the Biodiesel Tax Credit, which is more robust and transparent within the fuel value chain, allowing fuel retailers to pass meaningful savings along to consumers.

NATSO, SIGMA and NACS look forward to working with the Administration and Congress on biofuel policies aimed at advancing the U.S. fuel supply and U.S. energy markets for the benefit of American consumers.

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Tiffany Wlazlowski Neuman

Wlazlowski Neuman leads NATSO and the NATSO Foundation’s public affairs initiatives and communications strategies to promote the truck stop and travel center industry to the public, opinion leaders, elected officials, and the media. Her outreach includes a spectrum of policy issues facing the industry, with a particular focus on transportation and fuel issues, truck parking, and human trafficking. She serves as NATSO’s representative on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Truck Parking Coalition, the Clean Freight Coalition, and various state truck parking technical advisory committees. She is the architect of the truck stop and travel center industry’s anti-human trafficking campaign and currently serves as a Committee member for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Human Trafficking Advisory Council. Wlazlowski Neuman serves on the American Highway Users Policy and Government Affairs Committee.

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