Analysis of the United States sugar program

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/d10006874

Most governments around the world have policies to protect domestic agricultural producers from the instability of world market prices for their commodities of for other domestic, political or cultural reasons. Each commodity has a slightly different support program than the next. The United States Sugar Program has changed since the first tariff was placed on it in 1789 to raise money for the new government. Currently, the sugar program employs three distinct techniques: price support loans, marketing allotments and import quotas. There is a Congressional debate underway about whether or not to reform the sugar program in the upcoming 2007 Farm Bill. Organized interests such as the American Sugar Alliance and the Sweetener Users Association have been using their political influence to weigh in on the debate. Another debate that continues to cause conflict is whether or not sugar should be included in free trade agreements. The impact of the United States sugar program extends well beyond the borders of the country to developing countries vying for a piece of the US market. St. Kitts–Nevis, a former British colony, was once a sugar giant with the profits from the sugar industry being crucial to the country's economic survival. Because of reduced access to markets, such as those in the United States, and a reduced world price for sugar, St. Kitts–Nevis has been forced to abandon the sugar industry and invest in agricultural diversification and other industries, most notably, tourism.