Washington, D.C. – The Sweetener Users Association (SUA) today issued the following statement applauding the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Congress for ensuring that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) entered into force today:
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.
The Sweetener Users Association (SUA) represents American food and beverage manufacturers who use sugar to make the products U.S. consumers know and love — from sweet treats to everyday staples like bread, pasta sauce, yogurt and peanut butter. SUA members employ hundreds of thousands of Americans across the United States — from bakers and confectioners to bottlers and factory workers.
Connect with us at SweetenerUsers.org or follow us on Twitter @SweetenerUsers.
