U.S. sweetener firms: Mexico not to blame for sugar prices

   A group of U.S. sugar users said Mexico should not be used as “scapegoat” for the fluctuations in U.S. sugar prices. 
   “Instead, the focus should be on reforming the U.S. sugar program, which continues to cost American consumers and businesses billions a year, costing taxpayers nearly $300 million in FY 2013 alone,” the Sweetener Users Association (SUA) said in a statement Thursday.
   The association made its remarks following a recent announcement from the U.S. Commerce Department that it would postpone its preliminary determination of domestic injury in the antidumping duty investigation of Mexican sugar imports. It’s not uncommon for Commerce to grant these extensions, which it did on June 3 by extending its determination on countervailing duties to Aug. 25. 
   “As Commerce continues its AD (antidumping) and CVD (countervailing duty) investigations of Mexican sugar imports through the regular course of action, it should not be assumed that the case has merit,” SUA said. 
   “In actuality, the petition filed earlier this year by U.S. sugar producers is nothing more than a diversionary tactic, shifting the blame to Mexico for the distortions in the marketplace that were caused by the U.S. sugar program, specifically changes made to the program in the 2008 farm bill. U.S. sugar prices soared above the world price from 2009 to 2012 following the implementation of the 2008 farm bill changes to the sugar program. As a result, both Mexico and the United States increased production, leading to a surplus and a return to the historical sugar price level that sugar producers – U.S. and Mexican – are experiencing today in the United States,” the association explained. 
   “With each step of Commerce’s investigation, we will continue to present evidence of the U.S. sugar program’s failings and the lack of merit in this case,” SUA said.