Fewer Friends In High Places For This Lobby

Still, as American agribusiness depends more and more on foreign markets, sugar is the one commodity that keeps foreign competition at bay by relying on an outdated quota system, raising sugar costs for consumers by about $1.9 billion a year, according to the Government Accountability Office. Among...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe New York times
Main Authors ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO and ELIZABETH BECKER, Alexei Barrionuevo reported from Chicago for this article and Elizabeth Becker from Washington
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published New York, N.Y New York Times Company 02.06.2005
EditionLate Edition (East Coast)
Subjects
Agricultural subsidies
Bush, George W
Import quotas
Lobbying
Sugar industry
Trade relations
Central America
United States
CHICAGO, June 1
US
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Summary:Still, as American agribusiness depends more and more on foreign markets, sugar is the one commodity that keeps foreign competition at bay by relying on an outdated quota system, raising sugar costs for consumers by about $1.9 billion a year, according to the Government Accountability Office. Among other things, the system protects sugar beet and cane farmers by preventing imports of less expensive sugar from Brazil and other parts of Latin America that would undercut domestic prices. The sugar industry in the United States is blessed by geography and a single-minded focus on defending the quota program. Much of the American sugar program resides in Florida, home of cane growers that produce about a quarter of the nation's sugar. Cane sugar is also an important part of Louisiana's economy. Sugar beets are grown in North Dakota, Minnesota and other northern states that have consistently lobbied their lawmakers to oppose any threats to the program. ''In the case of sugar it was pure lobbying and not based on science,'' said Derek Yach, the former executive director for noncommunicable diseases at W.H.O. and now a professor at Yale University. In 2003, the sugar lobby challenged a follow-up policy developed by W.H.O., objecting to any specific recommendations on limiting sugar use. This time, sugar interests raised the stakes, bringing in lobbyists from the Grocery Manufacturers of America, whose members include Coca-Cola and Nestle.
ISSN:0362-4331