NEW YORK — Are Americans getting a raw deal on sugar prices?

According to mobile.nytimes.com, President Donald Trump called a recent agreement on sugar with Mexico a “very good one” for both countries. But companies that make candy, cakes and other foods containing the sweetener say it will lead to Americans paying more than they already do.

The split perspectives underscore how U.S. policies have long put sugar producers at odds with the rest of the food industry. Food makers say federal policies already inflate U.S. sugar prices, and the new agreement will make things worse. The sugar industry, meanwhile, says food companies are trying to drive down prices to sweeten their own profits, not to make treats more affordable.

To understand if the sugar deal might affect grocery bills, here’s a look at how sugar prices work.

(Google)

TRADE RULES

U.S. policies on sugar support higher prices in a couple ways.

Limits on sugar imports help shield domestic producers from competition. The government also effectively guarantees U.S. producers a minimum price for their sugar if the market price falls below that level.

The latest deal with Mexico traces back to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which opened the U.S. market to Mexican sugar imports in 2008. But a few years after that, U.S. sugar producers said Mexico produced too much and got rid of it by dumping it in the U.S. for lower prices than in Mexico, which was a violation of trade laws.

Click here for ful article on https://mobile.nytimes.com/aponline/

Source: https://mobile.nytimes.com

Comments

comments