SUA Letter to USDA Secretary Vilsack & USTR Tai (4-13-2022)

Dear Mr. Secretary and Madam Ambassador:

We are writing to you jointly because both the Department of Agriculture and the Office of U.S. Trade Representative have important responsibilities for supplying the U.S. sugar market with adequate supplies at reasonable prices. USDA establishes and, when necessary, increases sugar tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), while USTR allocates TRQs among various quota-holding countries. The agencies’ partnership ideally results in a smooth flow of imported sugar to complement our domestic production.

At this moment, members of the Sweetener Users Association (SUA) see a need for urgent action to provide additional supplies to the domestic market. We would note that –

The April World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates project September 30, 2022, ending stocks at only 12.5 percent of total use – well below the lower bound of USDA’s traditional target range of 13.5-15.5 percent of use.

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