With the passage of the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a letter lawmakers wrote last week asking U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman to establish “a significant opening” of access to U.S. sugar markets now takes on a more significant meaning.
The request was sent in a bipartisan letter penned by U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), and co-signed by more than 40 other members of the House of Representatives.
“As Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations move towards completion, we write to urge you to reach a comprehensive agreement that includes commercially meaningful liberalization of the sugar trade among TPP member countries, thereby significantly expanding U.S. sugar imports to meet domestic demand,” the letter stated.
Essentially, the lawmakers want to allow TPP members open access to American sugar markets in order to lower costs, thereby saving American jobs.
“Current sugar tariffs are hurting American consumers and businesses by keeping our sugar prices unfairly high and our sugar-using industries — and the countless jobs they support — at needless risk,” Kelly, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said. “Expanding our sugar market for our trading partners will bring sugar prices dramatically down for American families and factories while increasing supplies and boosting competition among American companies.”
The letter cited U.S. Census Bureau data that showed the U.S. has lost more than 120,000 jobs in sugar-using industries over the last 15 years. The Congressmen believe that increasing access to U.S. sugar can help to reverse this trend.
“American jobs depend on access to sugar,” the lawmakers concluded.
A formal agreement on the TPP, the largest regional trade partnership in modern history, was finalized Monday morning. Assuming Congress approves the deal, the United States will have a line of communication with nearly a dozen Pacific Rim nations, establishing standards for global commerce and employee status in an unprecedented fashion.