Washington DC – National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) President Bill Reinsch today sent a letter to all Senators, urging them to support Senate Amendment 925 to the 2013 Farm Bill, which was introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Pat Toomey (R-PA), Mark Kirk (R-IL) and 15 other cosponsors.
Reinsch wrote:
“… This bipartisan amendment is aimed at making modest reforms to federal sugar policy that would reduce food costs to every American family as well as stop the distortions of U.S. trade policy caused by the sugar program. These reforms would help to save consumers and businesses up to $3.5 billion every year and protect hundreds of thousands of American jobs in sugar-using industries.
“One of the most significant side effects of the sugar program has been its distorting impact on U.S. trade policy. Maintaining import protections on sugar forces U.S. negotiators to make concessions elsewhere, which means sacrificing export potential for other crops and weakening the position of the United States in nonagricultural areas in negotiations ranging from the Trans-Pacific Partnership to WTO rounds.
“The sugar program has had the effect of increasing domestic sugar prices over the past four years, which have ranged from 64 to 92 percent higher than the average world price. The artificially high prices have greatly affected consumers as well as food and beverage manufacturers in the United States, which must deal with a reduced global competitiveness, less investment, lower sales, and most importantly fewer employment opportunities.
“…The National Foreign Trade Council fully endorses the Shaheen-Toomey-Kirk amendment, which will lower prices for consumers, provide support for a whole host of producers who use sugar, and save taxpayers millions of dollars.”
To read the full letter, click letter
About the NFTC
Advancing Global Commerce for Nearly A Century- The National Foreign Trade Council (www.nftc.org) is a leading business organization advocating an open, rules- based global trading system. Founded in 1914 by a broad-based group of American companies, the NFTC now serves hundreds of member companies through its offices in Washington and New York.
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