FLORIDA FARMERS DISPUTE CLAIM
OF BENEFITS OF ‘FREE TRADE’ BRAZILIAN STYLE

CANCUN, MEXICO – September 11, 2003 – Brazil's version of "free trade" in sugar falls dramatically short of its definition, said Robert Coker, senior vice president of U.S. Sugar Corporation. Sugar has been cited as one of the important issues to come before world trade leaders at a meeting this week of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Cancun, Mexico.

"What Brazil wants is to have their cake and eat it, too," said Coker. "They want to put thousands of Americans out of work so that they can dump their surplus sugar into our market. That surplus is the direct result of their government continuing to line the pockets of wealthy Brazilian producers with a variety of subsidies."

Brazil's ambassador to the United States, Rubens Barbolsa, said yesterday, "these (WTO) trade talks will succeed or fail based on what progress we make on this issue. We believe free trade means free trade." Coker says, however, that "free trade Brazilian style means that their government continues its heavy support of the country's ethanol program which absorbs 57 % of Brazilian sugar. The actual farm workers would see little, if any, of the benefits received by the wealthy owners."

World free trade will not be achieved with negotiations that merely grant further access to our markets without getting to the heart of the problem -- a worldwide surplus of sugar that is the direct result of foreign governments' many trade distorting policies that have not been addressed by the WTO.

Last week, Brazil led a coalition of 20 nations that submitted a proposal to ease barriers to agricultural trade, especially in sugar, in opposition to an earlier proposal from the United States and European Union to create a more level playing field in reducing tariffs and other import restrictions on a much broader scale.

Coker said, "American sugar farmers endorse the goal of genuine global free trade in sugar, but demand that it be done on a level playing field. We welcome competition, but free of all government intervention."

Because the world sugar market is so grossly distorted by widespread government intervention, American farmers believe, reform must be global and comprehensive, not piecemeal. They believe the only way to achieve the goal of free trade in sugar is through sector-specific, comprehensive, multilateral negotiations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) — all countries, all agricultural programs. "This outcome can only be achieved in here at the WTO level," said Coker.

Despite the high costs for labor and stringent environmental standards and a strong dollar, American sugar and corn sweetener producers remain among the lowest cost producers in the world. American sugar producers are efficient and among the world's low-cost producers.

"Our farmers can compete one-on-one with other farmers around the world, but not with foreign governments. Until all trade-distorting practices are removed, a minimal U.S. sugar policy of border protection must remain in place," said Coker.

Coker said, "U.S. sugar farmers support a successful Doha Round and, therefore, recognize the need, at this stage in the negotiations, to narrow differences and establish a structure for reaching agreement on modalities - the aim of the framework proposal contained in the Draft Ministerial Declaration. Because the framework contains very few numbers, it is impossible to assess adequately its potential impact. The tough decisions, which will determine the actual effects of the negotiations, are put off to the future."

"We must correct these and other flaws at Cancun if the negotiations are to lead to a successful outcome for the world sugar market, for the U.S. sweetener industry, and for all of U.S. agriculture," commented Coker.

"It is not surprising that a number of countries that over-produce sugar, like Brazil and Australia, are at the forefront of the efforts to dismantle the U.S. and European Union farm programs so that they can flood our markets with their surplus sugar. Dumped sugar, which sells for prices below the country's cost of producing it, would displace not only American sugar and eliminate thousands of American jobs, but also would displace the sale of sugar from Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) countries and others who currently supply sugar to the U.S. market and depend on the income from those sales," Coker said.

"Until there is fundamental reform of the grossly distorted world sugar market, we can't just sit back and allow American farmers and the rural communities that depend on these farms to be victimized by bad trade agreements," Coker said.