Sugar producers ask the US government to limit imports

On April 16, U.S. sugar producers asked the government to take trade measures against countries they say are flooding the domestic market with sugar, saying local sugarcane and beet growers and sugar mills would face financial ruin without intervention.

The American Sugar Alliance (ASA), which represents farmers and processors, said it had submitted comments to the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) asking the government to enforce protectionist policies against what it called discriminatory trade practices by foreign sugar-producing countries, including subsidized sugar exports.

U.S. sugar policy includes limited imports under lower tariff rate quotas (TRQs) negotiated under the World Trade Organization, as well as free imports above the quota, which are subject to high tariffs.

The ASA argues that tariffs on above-quota imports have become ineffective over the years and need to be updated.

“Without stemming this flow of subsidized foreign sugar imports, the American industry will face disaster, with credit losses likely to begin within months, followed by a complete cancellation,” the Alliance wrote in its comments to the USTR.

Tags: restrictions, sugar, USA, imports