U.S. sugar producers pursue Mexican tariffs

The U.S. sugar industry has asked the federal government to impose tariffs on Mexican sugar, alleging that nation’s sugar producers have been dumping their heavily subsidized sugar on the U.S. market. The process of evaluating the claim could take upwards of a year, but a temporary tariff could be enacted by August, said Phillip Hayes, a spokesman for the American Sugar Alliance. Hayes said the U.S. Department of Commerce has 20 days to decide whether to initiate the case, and the U.S. International Trade Commission has 45 days to determine if injury has been caused. Hayes said ASA and other U.S. sugar entities have alleged American sugar producers stand to lose $1 billion in lower prices due to the influx of Mexican sugar priced well below production costs. Prices are now half their 2011 levels due to the glut of Mexican sugar, Hayes said...more

Go here for a short history of the sordid U.S. sugar program.