The state’s sugar cane industry is waiting to see if the U.S. and Mexico can strike a deal today that will decide the fate of Mexican sugar imports to America.
As The Courier reports, Mexican sugar illegally dumped into U.S. markets has long been a problem for the American sugar industry, resulting in a severe drop in prices and a $4 billion loss for the entire industry over the past four years, according to industry and government officials.
“Primarily, we don’t want to have tariffs placed. We want to negotiate an agreement with Mexico to allow them to ship sugar into the United States,” says Jim Simon, general manager of the Thibodaux-based American Sugar Cane League. “But we can’t allow them to ship sugar under the terms that they want because they’ll continue to ship sugar into the U.S. and continue the dumping practices they are currently utilizing.”
The U.S. International Trade Commission previously ruled that Mexico’s dumping practices were illegal and harming the industry. An 80% tariff was imposed on Mexican sugar.
However, a deal was struck in December 2014 to lift those tariffs. The 2014 trade agreement also set prices and quotas for U.S. imports of Mexican sugar.
Simon says that deal hasn’t worked and either a new deal must be struck or the tariff must be reinstated—though an 80% tariff, however, would be a last resort, he says.
