Fedorchak, Hoeven, Slotkin, & Carter lead call for Section 301 Investigation into unfair sugar trade practices

Washington, D.C. - Representatives Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.) and Troy Carter (D-La.) and Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) today led a bipartisan, bicameral effort, along with 112 of their colleagues, in support of efforts by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer to utilize a Section 301 investigation into unfair and discriminatory trade practices by foreign sugar-producing countries. They call on USTR to take appropriate action to protect American sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers, processors, refiners, and factory workers from being undercut by discriminatory foreign trade practices. In the letter, the members of Congress:

• Highlight that the tier two tariff meant to defend U.S. sugar production from being undercut by discriminatory foreign trade practices has not been updated in 26 years and has become wholly ineffective.

• Note that the erosion of the tier two tariffs has led to a more than 700 percent increase in out-of-quota sugar imports between Fiscal Years (FY) 2021 and 2025 compared to the prior five-year period.

• Highlight a recent study by the North Dakota State University (NDSU) Agricultural Risk Policy Centeranalyzing the impact of over-quota sugar imports on domestic sugar prices, which found that Tier-2 imports depressed U.S. domestic raw sugar prices and resulted in an estimated loss of up to $1.8 billion for the domestic U.S. sugar industry last year.

• Cite peer-reviewed research published in the Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics that confirms the retail prices of sugar-sweetened foods are not driven by the cost of sugar.

• Urge Ambassador Greer to take action to level the playing field for U.S. producers, including imposing tariffs sufficient to return sugar imports to historic norms.

"The sugar farming families and workers across our States support more than 151,000 jobs in more than two dozen states while generating more than $23 billion in economic activity each year. We are gravely concerned about the surge in unfairly traded foreign sugar imports, which, along with higher input costs, are plunging the domestic industry into crisis and presenting an imminent threat to the industry's long-term viability," wrote the members of Congress.

"U.S. sugar policy is a necessary response to a global playing field where foreign countries routinely sell sugar at well below the world cost of production… In the past 10 years, 14 percent of our nation's beet sugar processing facilities and 12 percent of our domestic cane sugar mills and refineries have closed, including the complete loss of sugarbeet farming in California (2025) and sugarcane farming in Hawaii (2016) and Texas (2024). Absent action to protect the domestic sugar industry from discriminatory foreign trade practices, these continued revenue losses will only mount, threatening the future existence of domestic U.S. sugar production. We strongly urge you to investigate these unfair trading practices that disadvantage our domestic sugar industry and take decisive action as appropriate."

The full text of the letter can be found here.

The following organizations have endorsed the letter: Amalgamated Sugar Company, American Crystal Sugar Company, American Farm Bureau Federation, American Sugar Alliance, American Sugar Cane League, American Sugar Refining, Inc., American Sugarbeet Growers Association, Big Horn Basin Beet Growers Association, Big Horn County Sugar Beet Growers Association, Colorado Sugarbeet Growers Association, Elwyhee Beet Growers Association, Florida Crystals Corporation, Florida Sugar Cane League, Michigan Sugar Company, Minn-Dak Farmers Cooperative, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, National Farmers Union, NebCo Beet Growers Association, Nebraska Sugarbeet Growers Association, Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Association, Snake River Sugarbeet Growers, Southern- Minnesota Beet Sugar Cooperative, Southern Montana Sugarbeet Growers Association, Sugarcane Growers Cooperative of Florida, US Beet Sugar Association, US Sugar, Western Sugar Cooperative, Wheatland Beet Growers Association, and the Wyoming Sugar Company.