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Local sugar representatives are adamant on this point: Until the
issue is settled, no Mexican sugar should be allowed to enter the
United States.
Friday was a day for tough talk from the U.S. sugar industry, a
day after Mexico unexpectedly broke off talks with U.S. negotiators
over surplus sugar limits and said it would seek intervention from a
NAFTA arbitration panel.
Mexico says the North American Free Trade Agreement stipulates that
it can send all its excess sugar -- about 600,000 tons -- to the
United States beginning Oct. 1. American trade officials say a side
provision of the accord limits Mexican sugar imports to 110,000 to
120,000 tons.
U.S. growers fear a flood of Mexican sugar would overwhelm the
already glutted U.S. sugar market, which is reeling under a one-two
punch of overproduction and rock-bottom prices. The federal
government already has bought 130,000 tons of surplus U.S. sugar in
a so-far unsuccessful attempt to give the market a lift.
"It certainly was Mexico's decision to break off the
talks," said Carolyn Cheney, Washington representative for the
Sugar Cane Growers of Florida, a cooperative based in Belle Glade.
"And we don't believe any sugar should or will come in if they
have chosen to go ahead with this NAFTA panel."
The cooperative announced plans this year to forfeit its sugar to
pay back federal loans. Sugar prices this week were a little over 18
cents a pound, shy of the 19.5 cents growers say is necessary to
avoid forfeiture.
The American Sugar Alliance, which represents the industry
throughout Florida and around the United States, echoed the Belle
Glade group's rhetoric.
"Our position is that no sugar comes in until we have this
settled. And that's just the way we see it," said Joseph
Terrell, the Washington-based group's public relations director.
Brendan Daly, a spokesman with the Washington office of U.S.
Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, said Friday that officials
had not decided whether the United States would block the Mexican
sugar pending the outcome of the NAFTA panel's ruling.
A decision from that yet-to-be-named NAFTA panel, which would
include two U.S. and two Mexican representatives, probably would not
be made before Oct. 1.
Judy Sanchez, spokeswoman for U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, said the
dispute isn't likely to have an immediate effect on local growers,
although they are closely watching the situation.
"It's unfortunate that Mexico's not abiding by the
conditions they agreed to in NAFTA," Sanchez said Friday,
adding that it would be in the best interest of both countries to
settle the issue as quickly and fairly as possible.
Sanchez said it is doubtful U.S. Sugar will forfeit the 50 tons
of sugar it has produced under a government loan program, because
the amount is only a minor portion of the 850,000 tons the company
produced this past season.
Comments from officials with Palm Beach-based Florida Crystals,
Florida's other major sugar producer, were unavailable Friday.
At a news conference Thursday in Mexico, the country's deputy
commerce minister, Luis de la Calle, threatened to eventually target
duty-free imports of U.S. corn if the United States doesn't raise
its sugar quota Oct. 1.
The Mexican sugar industry, which urged its government to request
the NAFTA dispute panel, also has called on the Commerce Ministry to
block duty-free U.S. corn imports, used to produce high-fructose
corn syrup.
Bill Kramer, general manager of the Sugar Cane Growers of
Florida, said the breakdown of the talks is troubling.
"I think this is the beginning of a test to see if you really
can work out a trade negotiation with Mexico," Kramer said.
"There are issues here as to how much credibility any
negotiator has in working out a trade issue."
Mexico's sudden pullout puts more pressure on the NAFTA panel and
negotiators to reach a consensus, he said.
"This is destroying the faith on the NAFTA level," Kramer
said. "If you can't overcome the trust issue, you're kind of
back to square one."
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