Sugar analyst tells House Agriculture Committee the trend toward free trade is reversing itself.
According to a recent ASA news release, Jack Roney, director of economics and policy analysis for the ASA, told the House Agricultural Committee during a hearing July 26 the apparent trend toward agricultural free trade is showing signs of reversing itself.
Roney said developments indicate governments already heavily involved in agricultural markets remain entrenched. And many governments that had begun to remove themselves have reversed direction.
Roney described the industry's hope for free trade. "Because of its competitiveness, with costs of production well below the world average, the U.S. sugar industry supports the goal of genuine, global free trade in sugar. American sugar farmers cannot compete with foreign governments, but we are perfectly willing to compete with the foreign farmers in a truly free trade environment."
Roney told the committee the U.S. sugar industry would find a way to survive this crisis, but some U.S. sugar policy must be retained.