In this previous post, I wrote about President Bush's suggestion for dropping the 54 cent tax on imported ethanol and linked to this article from the Houston Chronicle.
"It's a step in the wrong direction," Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said Friday. He is chairman of the Finance Committee, which would consider any change in the tariff. "It would send a signal that we're backing away from our own efforts to seek energy independence."
I realize a big reason for the existence of this tariff is to please the folks in the farm lobby in states like Iowa and Minnesota. I also realize it's very difficult to meaningfully talk about "our economy" and "our producers." But putting those difficulties aside, students of Principles of Economics should understand that prohibiting, explicitly or implicitly, voluntary exchange causes a lowering of standards of living. The basic reason for this is that people trade to obtain something at a cost lower than what they'd incur if they made their own stuff. Competition between providers drives that cost lower and forces producers to account for the wishes of consumers - including providing better products. Shielding producers from competition limits the ability of consumers to "shop around," so to speak, and while consumers often get the stuff they want, they pay higher prices and/or get stuff of lower quality (think American automobiles).
Being "energy independent" per-se is not something that folks should aim for. If the U.S. does become energy independent, it should be because "our producers" are more efficient than "international competitors" once tariffs and mandates etc. are taken out of the equation. Passing legislation to make "us" "energy independent" is no less silly than Minnesota legislators passing legislation to make "us" Minnesotans "banana independent" or "orange independent." There is no reason at all to force consumers to insulate American energy producers from international competition, unless you'd like to populate the industry with inefficient, slothful dinosaurs leading to lower economic growth and a lower domestic standard of living.