Energy is an issue where voters always trust Republicans over Democrats. This is (yet) another issue where the Trump administration can win so much “we may even get tired of winning.”
American farmers are a resource that can be tapped to stop the import of renewable fuels from China and Brazil.
The last thing we need as a nation is to fall behind global competitors who are currently supplying a critical source of energy used for fuel.
Although electric vehicles (EVs) are all the rage — unless you are a Tesla-owning victim of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS) — they are not used by most Americans. As a matter of fact, only a fraction of vehicles driven in the U.S. are EVs.
But commercial aircraft and long-haul trucks cannot run on EV batteries, nor are EVs popular with motorcycle and NASCAR enthusiasts. When Americans go to a race, they enjoy the drama of pit stops for gas and tires. They want to hear roaring engines, not silent EVs. In short, renewable fuels are an important mix with fossil fuels today to provide energy for the vast majority of moving vehicles Americans love and rely on every day.
Enter sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). American farmers and innovators can use plants, crops to be used as jet fuel. Innovators can use biomass, waste, and captured gas to convert into the same fuel.
Right now, traditional fossil fuel-sourced jet fuel is combined with the sustainable sources to meet the growing demand for that fuel. This domestic production of these fuels forwards the cause of domestic energy security to meet a growing demand that now can be sourced from foreign producers.
While Americans are producing more sustainable fuels, foreign competitors are sinking money into foreign-sourced energy to compete and replace American-grown fuels. For Americans to compete on a level playing field, our policy should provide incentives for more capital investment and business certainty.
Energy companies look at the long term when investing because of the time it takes to raise financing to design and then permit a new facility. The building of these facilities takes time, and the incentives today are short-term.
One of the biggest problems is a regulatory scheme that smothers innovation. Federal agencies that over-regulate sustainable fuels have sat on guidance for years when developing and releasing details of how American energy producers can comply. This effectively prevents American farmers and producers from competing with Brazil and China in producing cost-effective solutions.
President Trump has promised energy independence, which can be met when providing sustainable fuels for American aircraft. Putting tariffs in imported sustainable fuels will merely put a Band-Aid on the need to insource the growth and production of these frequently used fuels. And this source of fuel is not limited to just aircraft.
There are several other ways sustainable fuels can be used. Motorcycle News reported on March 23, 2025, “Electrification is all the rage in transport politics but there may be a game-changer waiting in the wings — one that not only protects the environment but also secures a future for the internal combustion engine.”
These renewable fuels alternative to “relying on hard-to-store hydrogen or costly batteries.” The demand for electric motorcycles has not been met by the market and combustion engines are not going anywhere.
And not many people who want to ride a big motorcycle want a quiet electric engine instead of a loud, powerful engine using traditional fuel.
Right now, aircraft gas up with half sustainable fuels mixed and traditional fossil fuels. At some point, aircraft will be able to use all sustainable fuels. The Department of Energy can do more to help the use of crops, waste, biomass and plants to produce more.
The people who make these fuels were the ones who put Donald J. Trump back in office, and he should reward them with smart economic policies that reinvigorate the farm belt.
Now is the time to incentivize private sector investment using tax credits married to an elimination of bureaucratic red tape. Congress and the Trump administration need to make sustainable aviation fuels one element of helping middle Americans who have long been forgotten by the elites in Washington, D.C.
Jared Whitley is a longtime politico who has worked in the US Senate, White House, and defense industry. He has an MBA from Hult business school in Dubai, and in 2024 he won the Top of the Rockies best columnist award. Read Jared Whitley’s Reports — More Here
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