Trump to discuss RFS biofuels programme with oil refiners?

US President Donald Trump is set to meet representatives of the oil refining industry and their legislative backers to discuss the US biofuels programme, Reuters reports, citing two sources briefed on the matter.

According to Reuters, the White House meeting could set the stage for negotiations over possible legislation to overhaul the US Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the 2005 law that obliges refiners to blend increasing volumes of biofuels into gasoline each year.

The RFS system has long been a source of controversy, popular in agricultural states that produce large quantities of crops such as corn, but unpopular among oil refiners who claim it costs them hundreds of millions of dollars.

Although the White House has officially declined to comment on the proposed meeting, Reuters claims it is scheduled to take place on 11 December.

The US Environmental Protection Agency recently confirmed a slightly increased biofuels volumes target under the RFS for 2018. It has also resisted attempts from industry for the blending burden to be shifted away from refiners.