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Sugar Industry and International Trade News
November 3, 2000 The Canadian International Trade Tribunal issued a decision today that continues its 1995 finding against dumped and subsidized sugar from the United States and European Union. Antidumping and countervailing duties will, therefore, continue to be applied to imports of such sugar.
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October 25, 2000
The October 12, WASDE report indicated that the US Department of Agriculture has taken ownership of about 1.1 million tons of surplus US cane and beet sugar. Even after the "Payment in Kind"payout of 260-290,000 tons, USDA will own 810-840,000 tons of sugar. What to do with this sugar remains a problem. US Agriculture Secretary, Dan Glickman, has promised not to sell the sugar back into the US market until prices recover. It could be exported, although there are no known takers and this could leave the US open to dumping complaints. US corn growers object to the sugar being sold for use in making ethanol.
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October 17, 2000
On October 9, 2000, representatives from major sugar producing countries gathered in Banff to deliver an urgent message to the Cairns Group Ministers. The Global Alliance for Sugar Trade Reform and Liberalization is calling for the negotiation of a WTO agriculture agreement that will reform international sugar policies. They have identified the policies of the US, EU and Japan as the main source of distortions in the global sugar market which cause depressed world prices and lower incomes for sugar producers, many of whom live in developing nations. Members of the Global Sugar Alliance include, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Nicaragua, Panama, Thailand and South Africa which joined in Banff. Cairns Group Ministers recognize that, "further trade liberalization must take account of the particular needs of developing countries and support their economic development." The Global Sugar Alliance provided a practical example of where action could begin.
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August 23, 2000
The American Sugar Alliance held its 17th Annual Sweetener Symposium in Steamboat Springs Colorado, August 5-9, 2000. "Sugar 2000: Emerging From the Farm Crisis", addressed the current US and world over supply situation, sugar policies and prices as well as a current perspective on the US/Mexico sugar discussions. The following remarks include highlights from the symposium.
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August 22, 2000
On August 1, 2000, the US Department of Agriculture announced a new program in an effort to help reduce the US sugar surplus and prevent loan forfeitures. The beet and cane sugar Payment-In-Kind (PIK) program offers growers the choice of diverting a portion of their crop out of production in exchange for sugar held by the US government's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The CCC has announced a 2-week sign-up period for the Program. The sign-up runs from Monday, August 21, 2000, through Friday, September 1, 2000. Farmers are limited to $20,000 in PIK payments.
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June 23, 2000
On June 19, 2000, the Canadian government announced that it was terminating its value-added retail packaging policy for sugar-containing products shipped into the US tariff-rate quota. In a June 19, Notice to Exporters, the government stated that:
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June 7, 2000
WINDSOR -- International Trade Minister Pierre Pettigrew has told the U.S. to back off a proposed sugar import licensing program or face NAFTA and WTO challenges, top trade sources said yesterday.
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May 18, 2000
Delegates from 13 countries met in Honduras, May 2-5, to set an agenda to push for liberalization of global sugar markets. The meeting was sponsored by the Association of Honduran Sugar Producers for members of the Global Alliance for Sugar Trade Reform and Liberalization. The group, formally launched at the WTO Ministerial in Seattle, has struck a chord with sugar producers from around the globe who share a common interest in improved access and reduced export subsidies for sugar. Members from India, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, Canada and various Central American countries, among others, identified the highly distorted sugar policies of the US, EU and Japan as the main reason for the depressed global sugar market. A combination of price supports, non recourse loans, subsidies and high tariffs in these countries negatively impact producers who produce and trade at the world price.
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