Defending the U.S. sugar program will be the sole priority for 55 sugar producers planning a trip to lobby policymakers in Washington, D.C., from late February to early March.
On Feb. 5, the American Sugar Alliance also sent a letter to freshmen lawmakers explaining the importance of the sugar program, and highlighting a global subsidization trend that would threaten U.S. growers, if not for the policy’s protection.
Alliance spokesman Phillip Hayes believes Congress spoke “loud and clear” when it passed a strong sugar policy in the 2014 Farm Bill. But Hayes warns sugar growers can’t afford to be complacent now about the policy, which allows 1.5 million tons per year of sugar imports from 41 trade partners.
Under the North American Free Trade Agreement, Mexican sugar has open access to the U.S. However, the governments of Mexico and the U.S. recently agreed to new import restrictions on Mexican sugar in response to U.S. producers’ concerns about the dumping of subsidized, Mexican sugar on their market.
Since the case was filed, the U.S. wholesale sugar price has risen from 26.5 cents per pound to 36 cents per pound.
Hayes said it’s too early to know where freshmen lawmakers stand on sugar policy, but Republicans in particular are influenced when he tells them the industry’s goal is to have trade barriers removed when there’s a level playing field.
Despite competing with countries that have poor labor standards, he said, the U.S. is in the top 20th percentile for sugar production efficiency, and is the most efficient producer of beet sugar. The problem, he said, is other countries dump sugar on the world market to maintain high domestic prices and offer subsidies that keep inefficient producers in business.
Brazil, which offers $2.5 billion in annual baseline sugar subsidies, has implemented new programs to promote cane sugar-derived ethanol. The nation has also approved $65 million in direct subsidy checks to sugar farmers and a $2 billion farm loan package. India has increased its sugar export subsidy from $53.45 per ton to $65 per ton.
Until other nations stop subsidizing, Hayes said “unilateral disarmament cannot be an option.”
“What we’re looking to do in 2015, and we’re already starting to do it, is really catalogue the increase in (foreign) subsidization and making sure that information gets out to Capitol Hill,” Hayes said.
American Falls, Idaho, sugarbeet grower Lamar Isaak flew to Washington, D.C., with growers last winter and believes his arguments changed lawmakers’ minds. Isaak tells them U.S. sugar policy protects the nation’s food security. He said Idaho growers haven’t selected who will go this winter, but there’s always broad interest.
New lawmakers, however, can expect to hear an opposing argument about sugar policy from the Coalition for Sugar Reform, which represents the major confectioners and sugar buyers.
“The coalition is focusing its lobbying efforts on educating new members of Congress on the costs of the sugar program to American taxpayers, consumers and businesses across the country,” said coalition spokeswoman Jennifer Cummings.
Source: www.capitalpress.com