ADDING COSTA RICA IN CAFTA HEIGHTENS
U.S. SUGAR OPPOSITION

WASHINGTON— JANUARY 26, 2004 — The Bush Administration’s announcement that Costa Rica has been added to the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) only serves to heighten the U.S. sugar industry’s opposition to the pact, which is seen as a template for future FTAs that could destroy America’s sugar farmers.

Carolyn Cheney, chair of the U.S. Sugar Industry Group, said, “We fear further concessions on sugar imports as the Administration plans to link the Dominican Republic into CAFTA, and as it negotiates FTAs with 23 other sugar-exporting countries.”

She said, “This development only adds to the burden placed upon the American sugar industry, which faces an already oversupplied market. The announcement further strengthens our resolve to work diligently to defeat the sugar provisions of the CAFTA. We continue to urge the Administration to address global sugar subsidies globally, in the World Trade Organization, not piecemeal in FTAs.”