Advocacy
Legislation

Congressional champions of sugar reform from both sides of the political aisle have introduced bills over the past several years to fix a program that is costing U.S. jobs and driving up consumer prices.

The U.S. sugar program is the only commodity program not reformed in the last two Farm Bills — 2014 and 2018 — and Congress actually made the program worse in 2018 by raising the loan rates on sugar, effectively imposing more costs on U.S. food and beverage manufacturers and American consumers.

Congress has the opportunity to modernize the U.S. sugar program, especially as it works to reauthorize the farm bill in 2023.

Sugar Policy Modernization Act of 2017 (H.R. 4265)

To modernize the sugar program under the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, to provide for the repeal of the feedstock flexibility program for bioenergy producers under the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 and marketing allotments for sugar under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938,…

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Archives: Legislation
Letters

Specialty Sugar TRQ – SUA Letter to Acting Under Secretary Jason Hafemeister & Deputy Under Secretary Gloria Montano Greene (7-6-2021)

Dear Acting Under Secretary Hafemeister and Deputy Under Secretary Montaño Greene: Recently, you have received conflicting letters from sugar market participants discussing potential changes to how the specialty sugar tariff-rate quota (TRQ) is administered. The Sweetener Users Association (SUA) appreciated the chance to discuss these potential changes with your staff…

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SUA Supply Chain Comments (6-21-2021)

Thank you for the opportunity to submit comments on “Supply Chains for the Production of Agricultural Commodities and Food Products.”  The Sweetener Users Association (SUA) comprises companies that use sugar and other caloric sweeteners to make foods and beverages, as well as trade associations representing these companies.  Sweetener-using segments of…

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Senators Shaheen-Toomey Letter to USDA (6-15-2021)

We write to urge you to exercise your authority to make adequate supplies of sugar available to the U.S. market. At present, several factors including a severe supply bottleneck in the Gulf region have driven prices to multi-year highs and, if not addressed, will encourage the offshoring of additional food…

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Archives: Letters
Testimony

Testimony by Bill O’Conner, Senior Agriculture Policy Advisor, Sweetener Users Association to the USTR Hearing on Negotiating Objectives Regarding Modernization of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico

The Sweeteners Users Association (SUA) commends the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) for soliciting comments and testimony from the various sectors of the economy on the negotiating objectives for modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico. We welcome the opportunity to testify today…

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Archives: Testimony