Washington, D.C. – In response to Representative Scott Perry’s anti-sugar policy amendment (#173) in the FY2024 agriculture appropriations package, American Sugar Alliance Chairwoman Cassie Bladow said: “Rep. Perry’s anti-sugar amendment threatens American farm families who provide Americans with a reliable, domestic sugar supply – risking 11,000 farmers, more than 151,000 jobs, and over $23 billion in economic activity.”
Producer groups across agriculture, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and the National Farmers Union, along with unions such as the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, oppose Rep. Perry’s anti-sugar amendment. Rep. Perry’s anti-sugar amendment puts American agriculture production, domestic food security, and manufacturing jobs at risk.
Rep. Perry’s anti-sugar amendment singles out hard-working American sugarcane and sugarbeet farm families and sugar workers, and puts in jeopardy the safety net provided to fight against predatory foreign trade practices, including subsidies that enable overproduction and dumping of sugar onto the global market below the cost of production.
Bottom line, Rep. Perry’s anti-sugar amendment harms U.S. farm families and undermines protection for taxpayers, while doing nothing to help consumers.