News & Insights

“As an organization that promotes U.S. exports and the benefits of open trade, the National Foreign Trade Council has long been concerned about the impact of U.S. sugar policy on consumers, businesses and workers. Today, those concerns are heightened by short supplies of sugar and exorbitant prices for consumers and industrial users….

“…Even though world sugar prices are higher than normal, U.S. prices are even higher. This means that the pressure on American consumers could be alleviated if world sugar supplies could be imported freely. But they cannot be: U.S. law sets quotas for sugar imports from some 40 different countries. Any imports in excess of these quotas are subject to an extremely high, normally prohibitive tariff.

“These high tariffs have always been justified as a way of protecting U.S. sugar farmers from low world prices. The rationale was that world sugar prices are so low that our sugar farmers and processors could not survive if they had to sell at the world price. Now, however, world prices are much higher than the historical norm….

“…There is a simple way to alleviate the strain on consumers, businesses and their employees, and it requires no new legislation. You have the ability to increase the tariff rate quota for sugar imports immediately, in any amount you choose. We respectfully urge you to provide immediately for an increase in raw and refined sugar tariff rate quotas that will allow stocks to return to a normal level.”