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Syncrude Mildred Lake plant, Alberta — illustrative refinery-type image; not a U.S. small refinery — Photo: TastyCakes / Jamitzky, public domain

Policy Watch|United States

EPA proposes shifting 770 million extra refinery-exemption RINs onto 2026–27 fuel standards

After granting more 2025 small refinery exemptions than it had projected, EPA is co-proposing two ways to put the extra 770 million RINs back into the 2026 and 2027 Renewable Fuel Standard obligations. EPA estimates the change adds less than one cent a gallon to gasoline and diesel. Comments are due 4 December 2026; a virtual hearing is set for 4 November.

Daily Teabag Desk·Centre
John Deere tractor with trailer in the Netherlands, illustrating farm diesel use, not a U.S. farm — Photo: joost j. bakker, CC BY 2.0

Cost of Living|United States

IRS waives dyed-diesel highway penalties through year-end; 7508A tax deferral guidance still to come

IR-2026-122 (14 October 2026) says the IRS will not impose section 6715 penalties when dyed diesel is sold for or used on U.S. highways. Relief is retroactive to 1 October and runs to 31 December 2026; federal fuel-tank inspections for on-road dyed fuel are suspended for that window. The agency still says it will issue further guidance on postponing the backup diesel taxes under 26 U.S.C. 7508A — that piece is not in this release. State fuel taxes are unaffected.

Daily Teabag Desk·Centre
Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa — Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0

Cost of Living|Canada

PBO: the federal fuel-tax pause costs $4.9 billion this year and saves the average family $276, with top earners getting 3.5 times what the lowest get

A Parliamentary Budget Officer cost estimate for Bill C-38, published 8 October 2026, puts the cost of suspending federal fuel excise taxes from 20 April 2026 to 31 January 2027, then halving them to 31 March, at $4.943 billion in 2026-27. Average savings are $276 per family, from $132 in the lowest income quintile to $468 in the highest. The House has agreed to sit until midnight on 19 October to deal with C-38.

Daily Teabag Desk·Centre
Abstract housing skyline illustration — The Daily Teabag

Policy Watch|European Union

The Netherlands revives its heat-pump rule: from 2029, many homeowners replacing a gas boiler will need a smart hybrid heat pump

In a 7 October 2026 letter to parliament, Housing Minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan said a new boiler alone will no longer meet the building code when an old one is replaced in homes not heading for a heat network. The rule would apply from 2029 at the earliest. Apartments and listed monuments are exempt at first. Who pays, and how much, is still being worked out.

Daily Teabag Desk·Centre
Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa — Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0

Cost of Living|Canada

House rejects Conservative motion to scrap diesel taxes until Canada Day, 196–133

The first opposition day of the fall sitting, 6 October 2026, is a Conservative motion calling on the government to eliminate all taxes on diesel consumption until at least Canada Day, permanently eliminate taxes on diesel production, and fast-track refineries, pipelines and storage. The vote must be held by 5:30 p.m. It is non-binding, and it does not say which taxes it means. Update, 8 October: the House negatived the motion on 7 October, 133–196.

Daily Teabag Desk·Centre
Dairy farm landscape near Westby, Wisconsin — Photo: Royalbroil, CC BY-SA 3.0

Accountability|Canada, United States

U.S. bars certain Canadian alcohol, dairy and motorcycles — Section 338 exclusions hit

Presidential Proclamations 11061, 11062 and 11063 exclude specified Canadian alcoholic beverages, dairy products and motor-vehicle products from importation into the United States effective 29 September 2026 at 12:01 a.m. ET — escalating from the prior 50% Section 338 duties. CBP is rejecting covered entries in ACE. Distinct from steel tariffs that Stelco cited when idling Hamilton cold-rolled lines.

Daily Teabag Desk·Slight right
Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa — Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0

Data Desk|Canada

PBO: Carney’s operating-budget anchor misses 2028–29 — capital labels look inconsistent

The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s 24 September 2026 note on the Operating Budget Fiscal Anchor projects balance in 2029–30, one year after Budget 2025’s 2028–29 target and two years after the prime minister’s 15 September claim of a 2027–28 path. Granular Finance attributions of “operating” vs “capital” look contradictory in places.

Daily Teabag Desk·Slight right
Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa — Photo: Ken Lund, CC BY-SA 2.0

Data Desk|Canada

PBO June 2026: ~$72B deficit, debt-service climbing, fiscal-anchor odds near zero

The Parliamentary Budget Officer’s 4 June 2026 Economic and Fiscal Outlook projects the deficit rising from $36.3 billion (2024–25) to $72.0 billion (2025–26), with debt-service reaching 13.1% of revenues and under a 1% chance the deficit/GDP ratio declines every year through 2030–31.

Daily Teabag Desk·Slight right
Shopping cart in a supermarket — Photo: Nesnad, CC BY 4.0

Data Desk|Canada

Groceries cooled to +2.8% — but the five-year climb is still ~29%

Statistics Canada’s August 2026 CPI (released 14 September): all-items +3.0% year-over-year; food from stores +2.8% — first time since July 2024 below headline. Food from stores is still about +29.0% since August 2021. Next release: 19 October 2026.

Daily Teabag Desk·Centre