SUA Applauds USMCA Entry Into Force and the Support It Brings for U.S. Sugar-Using Companies

SUA commends USTR, USDA and Congress for their efforts to ensure that the USMCA entered into force on July 1, 2020.

American sugar-using companies continue to face a tight domestic sugar supply situation; this new trade agreement will help ease market pressure by allowing the United States to import additional refined sugar from Canada beginning today.

More specifically, under the USMCA, Canada is entitled to fill 20 percent of certain increases in the U.S. refined sugar quota. This means that U.S. food and beverage manufacturers will now have greater access to genuine, high-polarity, refined sugar.

Since raw sugar, which must go through a refinery prior to use, has filled the majority of the latest U.S. tariff-rate quota increase, SUA is grateful that its members now have additional access to ready-to-use sugar.

While the long-term solution for ongoing domestic sugar supply challenges is to reform the U.S. sugar program, which the Fair Sugar Policy Act (S.2568, H.R.4521) would do, SUA appreciates the hard work of the U.S. federal government, as well as the governments of Mexico and Canada, in enabling the USMCA to take effect immediately.