Sugar farmers back fed bid to stop Mexican ‘dumping’
America’s sugar farmers and producers Thursday informed the U.S. Department of Commerce that they support the agreement to bring Mexico’s subsidized sugar industry into compliance with U.S. trade laws. The pledge was made after Commerce officials tightened the agreement.
U.S. sugar producers say they have lost more than $4 billion since 2013 because Mexico violated trade law. Over the last few years, they have asked the Commerce Department to stop Mexico from selling sugar on the U.S. market at a lower price than it would bring in Mexico, a practice called dumping.
“We’ve had productive conversations with Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross over the past week, and we recognize that he is 100 percent dedicated to ending the job loss and injury caused by Mexico’s predatory trade practices,” Phillip Hayes, a spokesman for the American Sugar Alliance, said Thursday.
The Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida, based in Belle Glade, and Florida Crystals Corp. of West Palm Beach are members of the American Sugar Alliance.
The U.S. government found Mexico guilty of violating America’s anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws after it flooded the U.S. market with subsidized sugar in 2013 and 2014. But an agreement struck between the governments in late 2014 to stop Mexico’s unlawful acts did not work, and U.S. producers lost billions of additional dollars as Mexico continued its unfair trade practices.
The Sweetener Users Association, which represents industrial sugar users, has opposed modifications to the U.S.-Mexico agreements, saying the changes will make the bad agreements far worse.
“Through what amounts to a stealth price support increase, the modifications will further distort U.S. sugar markets and increase prices, enriching the U.S. sugar lobby while harming U.S. consumers and the food and beverage industries and their employees,” the SUA said in a statement.
The sugar users say the agreements have been detrimental to them by restricting supplies of raw sugar into the U.S. market and have artificially driven up raw sugar futures to levels previously associated with natural disasters or other emergencies.
Hayes said that in addition to meeting with Ross, sugar farmers and producers also spoke with Sonny Perdue, secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Hayes explained that Perdue recognizes the damage caused by Mexico’s unfair trade practices, and the industry is confident he will manage U.S. sugar policy effectively and ensure that Mexico doesn’t continue to wreck the market with unfair trade.
“As President Trump has said repeatedly, trade agreements and U.S. trade laws don’t work without strong enforcement,” Hayes said. “For too long, Mexico was allowed to sidestep our trade laws, but those days are over. Thanks to the efforts of leaders like Secretaries Ross and Perdue, our trade laws will be enforced, the U.S. market should return to a level playing field, and U.S. farm and producer jobs will be saved from unfair Mexican trade.”