No ‘Sacrifice' of Farmers on the Altar of Free Trade

August 8, 2001

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) told the International Sweetener Symposium he believes in free markets but not "sacrificing" producers "on the altar of free trade when it doesn't exist, and may never exist." Simpson, a member of the House Agriculture Committee, said other countries value agriculture "more than we do." He said unfortunately the United States has been "willing to sign (trade) agreements that would undermine our ability to support our farmers."

Even with existing trade agreements, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement, those interested in circumventing the intent of the agreements find "ways to get around them," he said.

As for supporting trade promotion authority that gives the President authority to negotiate trade agreements that must be voted on up or down by Congress without amendments, Simpson said the biggest obstacle to getting lawmakers to grant TPA is the experience of past agreements. Simpson said he and others who share his views in Congress want to make sure that they get support for agriculture before they commit fully to TPA. He said he doesn't want U.S. agriculture to have its interests ignored in future agreements, as has been the trend in past trade pacts.

Simpson also said he would do "whatever we can to maintain a viable sugar program in this country." He said the candy makers and others who have advocated eliminating the U.S. sugar program would not benefit in the long run if that occurred, thus threatening their supply line.

He also said he took a dim view of the candy makers' claims that they were moving to Mexico for cheaper sugar, since the price of sugar in Mexico is higher than in the United States. However, the manufacturers were able to get world dump-market sugar for their products, as long as they exported the finished product, he said. "If that is not a clear violation of NAFTA, it certainly violates the spirit of the agreement," he said.

The American Sugar Alliance is a national coalition of growers, processors and refiners of sugarbeets, sugarcane and corn for sweetener. For more information about U.S. sugar policy visit American Sugar Alliance at http://www.sugaralliance.org.