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Fiji has expressed concern with a US Government decision to raise the refined sugar tariff rate quota for 2007-2008.
Fiji’s Washington embassy has written to US Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer to express its concerns and says the decision has also meant the extension of the delivery period to December 31, 2008.
The Fiji Embassy has also expressed its support for the stand taken on this matter by the International Sugar Trade Coalition (ISTC)
The International Sugar Trade Coalition (ISTC) is a non-profit association representing the sugar industries in developing countries from Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Asia and the Pacific that have been traditional suppliers of sugar to the US market under the raw sugar tariff rate quota.
In the letter, the Fiji Embassy said the US move was inconsistent with Congress’ intent, expressed in the TRQ administration provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill, adding that it discriminated against legitimate access to the US sugar market.
“TRQ administration provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill require that the raw and refined TRQs must be set at the bound minimum level and not increased prior to April 1 of each quota year in the absence of an emergency shortage of sugar caused by “war, flood, hurricane, or other natural disaster, or other similar event,” the letter said.
“These provisions also require that, in the event of an emergency shortage of sugar, USDA must first increase the raw TRQ, and only if such increased raw imports are insufficient to eliminate the shortage may USDA increase the refined TRQ above the minimum level.
“Although these provisions do not become effective until October 1, 2008, USDA’s decision to extend the period for delivery under the 2007-08 refined TRQ to December 31, 2008, raises serious questions of compliance with the TRQ administration requirements of the 2008 Farm Bill.
“By increasing the amount of refined sugar that can enter during October 1-December 31, 2008, without first increasing the raw TRQ for that period above the bound minimum level, USDA has done an end-run around the intent of Congress, thereby de facto achieving what Congress de jure prohibited.
“USDA’s increase in the refined TRQ for the period October 1-December 31, 2008, represents the third time in a little over a month that it has disregarded the legitimate rights of the traditional suppliers of sugar under the TRQ.
“On June 23, 2008, USDA reassigned the cane sugar overall allotment quantity (OAQ) shortfall exclusively to Mexico, ignoring the TRQ holders.
“This Mission and the ISTC wrote to you on July 3, 2008, expressing concern that both the intent of Congress and the WTO obligations of the United States require that the TRQ holders participate in any such OAQ shortfall reassignment.
“These concerns were disregarded when, on July 10, 2008, USDA increased the OAQ to unblock domestic beet stocks and again assigned resulting cane sugar OAQ shortfall exclusively to Mexico.
“Although Mexico now has unlimited access to the U.S. sugar market pursuant to NAFTA, Mexico’s NAFTA rights do not supersede the WTO rights of the traditional suppliers under the TRQ.
“Article XXIV of GATT 1994 authorises free trade agreements only insofar as they do not prejudice access by other suppliers. There can be no serious dispute that, but for NAFTA, USDA’s reassignments of the 2007-08 cane OAQ shortfalls would have been made to the traditional suppliers under the raw sugar TRQ, as USDA did in 2005 and 2006.
“We continue to have serious concerns that USDA’s decision to assign the 2007-08 OAQ shortfalls exclusively to Mexico has prejudiced access to the U.S. sugar market by the traditional quota holders such as Fiji within the meaning of GATT Article XXIV.”
ISTC’s members like Fiji represent approximately one-half of the raw sugar TRQ allocations.
This is the second time that the Embassy has partnered with the International Sugar Trade Coalition in pleading for more access for Fiji sugar into the US market.
ISTC’s members include Fiji, Barbados, Belize, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Panama, the Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, Swaziland, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe.
