WASHINGTON—The American Sugar Alliance issued the following statement about the Farm Bill conference report filed yesterday evening.
“Falling sugar prices and foreign subsidies have created a challenging environment for U.S. sugar producers and the 142,000 U.S. jobs they help support. But the sugar policy contained in the 2014 Farm Bill gives them the hope of weathering the storm.
“We want to thank Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Thad Cochran (R-MS), Congressmen Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Collin Peterson (D-MN), and all of the members of the conference committee who worked so hard to produce a bipartisan bill that reduces farm policy spending while maintaining a strong farm safety net. We hope this well-crafted compromise is quickly approved by both bodies of Congress and is signed into law by the president so farmers have the stability of a five-year bill.”
The sugar policy contained in the Farm Bill conference report is identical to current sugar policy and mirrors the versions passed in 2013 by both the House and Senate. Attempts to weaken U.S. sugar policy failed in five separate recorded votes during the Farm Bill process as lawmakers rightly refused to outsource U.S. sugar production to heavily subsidized foreign producers.
Since the Farm Bill debate began, U.S. sugar prices have plummeted more than 50 percent because of a flood of unneeded Mexican sugar. Major sugar exporters, including Brazil, Thailand, and India, have also increased subsidy levels during that time.