Commerce Dept rules in favor of sugar lobby, will impose duties on Mexican sugar

[tsai3904]

The United States is set to slap import duties as high as 17 percent on Mexican sugar in a victory for the powerful U.S. sugar industry but a blow to U.S. candy and soft drink makers who face paying more for the sweetener.

Mexican producers urged a deal to end the spat while the government hinted at retaliation, highlighting the potential for Tuesday's Department of Commerce ruling to increase tensions in a months-long trade dispute over claims cheap subsidized sugar is flooding the heavily protected U.S. market.

The duties mean companies like sweets and food makers Hershey Co, Mondelez International Inc, General Mills Inc and drinks makers such as Coca Cola Co will have to pay up to 5 cents per pound extra for imported Mexican sugar, based on current prices.

...

It underscores the influence that U.S. cane and beet growers, a relatively small but politically engaged sector in U.S. farming, have over domestic farm and trade policy.

Out of a total 2.2 million U.S. farms, less than 4,700 grow cane and beet, according to data from the Washington-based Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

But the sector accounts for a third of the crop industries' campaign donations and 40 percent of crop industries' lobbying expenditures, it said.

...

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/26/us-sugar-dumping-mexico-idUSKBN0GQ1XJ20140826

 

[mosquitobite]

Wealthy farmers lobby for more wealth.

All the while the farmers who could actually USE that income in Haiti and Dominican Republic suffer for our greed.

 

[brushfire]

The bosses strike again

 

[Acala]

Crony-capitalism rules.

 

[idiom]

New Zealand lives and dies on Agriculture. But we have zero subsidies or trade protections. Why? Simply because subsidies make farmers weaker. Its why we have the most competitive farms in the world now.

Long term welfare is destructive. The farm lobby is destroying farmers simply to keep their skim going.

 

[juleswin]

Tariffs is that the affirmative action for trade, it protects less efficient producers from real competition. The funny thing is that I would guess that most of the farmers being helped by the sugar tariff would be against affirmative action we way we know it in the US

Someone should read for them the Essay by Fredrick Bastiat - The candle-makers petition. It would either give em new ideas or show them the errors of their ways

 

[brushfire]

New Zealand lives and dies on Agriculture. But we have zero subsidies or trade protections. Why? Simply because subsidies make farmers weaker. Its why we have the most competitive farms in the world now.

Long term welfare is destructive. The farm lobby is destroying farmers simply to keep their skim going.

You mean that your government has not put all of your small family farms out of business - all under the auspice of saving the small farmer (aka, the little helpless guy)?

Clearly you Kiwis are not an evolved society. /snoot...snoot When you have mega-industrial-super farms, then your opinion can be counted. /snoot...snoot. Industrial farming is a sign of progress, which must obviously be subsidized. The progressive central planners tell us so...

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/26/us-sugar-dumping-mexico-idUSKBN0GQ1XJ20140826

Why are Food, Drink, and Candy makers complaining about the additional cost of imported sugar? Don't all these big food conglomerates use HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) replacing much more expensive sugar? Sounds like the HFCS/King Corn industries lobbied the Commerce Department(Secretary Penny Pritzker, you know, head of the gang that 'Bankrolled Barry' all the way to the presidency.

So Reuters, care to investigate further?

Mexican producers urged a deal to end the spat while the government hinted at retaliation, highlighting the potential for Tuesday's Department of Commerce ruling to increase tensions in a months-long trade dispute over claims cheap subsidized sugar is flooding the heavily protected U.S. market.

 

[Seraphim]

Many do now have product that use either sugar cane or stevia as alternatives to the HFCS products. These newer products are becoming a larger and larger share of their sales. So, yes, it does effect them when they have to pay more for sucar cane.

Why are Food, Drink, and Candy makers complaining about the additional cost of imported sugar? Don't all these big food conglomerates use HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) replacing much more expensive sugar? Sounds like the HFCS/King Corn industries lobbied the Commerce Department(Secretary Penny Pritzker, you know, head of the gang that 'Bankrolled Barry' all the way to the presidency.

So Reuters, care to investigate further?

 

[oyarde]

I will probably just buy it from the Mexicans , only thing I use it for is making hummingbird food .

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Many do now have product that use either sugar cane or stevia as alternatives to the HFCS products. These newer products are becoming a larger and larger share of their sales. So, yes, it does effect them when they have to pay more for sugar cane.

Who's using Stevia in their processed foods? I haven't seen anything on the market with Stevia processed foods yet.

As for soft drink manufacturers, they do have limited quantities and marketing offerings 'made from real cane sugar' drinks, but those products always demand a huge premium in cost to their HFCS products. Others still using the artificial sweeteners in diet sodas, e.g.: aspartame, sucralose, neotame, acesulfame potassium, and saccharin

 

[idiom]

In New Zealand, there is not a thing on the shelf with HFCS in it, you have to go to a specialty American import store to get that poison.

American food has almost no cane sugar in anything. Its unreal. A market distortion of epic proportions.

 

[oyarde]

In New Zealand, there is not a thing on the shelf with HFCS in it, you have to go to a specialty American import store to get that poison.

American food has almost no cane sugar in anything. Its unreal. A market distortion of epic proportions.

Yeah , but you guys have alpine parakeets that would scare the shit out of pussy americans if they saw it eating carrion or feeding on the fat under the skin of a living , sleeping sheep , LOL. I get the Mexican coke every great once in awhile , but in my old age , try to restrict myself to water , fruit juice , tea , coffee , beer and bourbon .

 

[mad cow]

In New Zealand, there is not a thing on the shelf with HFCS in it, you have to go to a specialty American import store to get that poison.

American food has almost no cane sugar in anything. Its unreal. A market distortion of epic proportions.

Just try to get a decent leg of mutton at a local Quicky Mart around here.

And Marmite??Don't get me started.

 

[oyarde]

Just try to get a decent leg of mutton at a local Quicky Mart around here.

And Marmite??Don't get me started.

I need some lamb chops and leg , may take a look here .

 

[KCIndy]

I get the Mexican coke every great once in awhile , but in my old age , try to restrict myself to water , fruit juice , tea , coffee , beer and bourbon .

I love Mexican coke. Reminds me of the way Coca-Cola was back in the good old days. The "throwback" (made with cane sugar) Mountain Dews by Pepsi are pretty nostalgic, too.

The funny thing is that many of the kids (okay, young people.... OKAY, anyone under thirty) I've talked to seem to prefer the HFCS crap. They claim it tastes better. I guess it depends on what you're used to, but I have never been able to understand why anyone would pick corn syrup over cane sugar.