The world sugar community is reeling after India decided to subsidize its sugar farmers with a cool $1 billion, which could lead to that country dumping cheap product into the market and further depressing global sugar prices, not to mention hurting farmers in producing countries like Brazil, Guatemala, and Australia.
The dumping of the cheap sugar on global markets is eerily similar to what U.S. sugar farmers have had to deal with when Mexico and other foreign governments decided to dump cheap produce, including sugar, onto the U.S. market, all but crippling the American farmer.
While foreign sugar farmers benefit from, rely on their respective countries to bail them out, or subsidizing their crops, American sugar farmers do not receive subsidy payments from the federal government.
Sugarcane farmer Ardis Hammock of Moore Haven, Florida, who praises President Donald Trump’s efforts to protect the American Farmer, reiterates how farmers like herself do not benefit from any government handouts or bailouts.
“Florida sugarcane farmers thank President Trump for standing up for American farmers against foreign government subsidies,” said Hammock “ Despite the ever-rising costs of farming, our country’s sugarcane farmers continue to find new ways to innovate and invest in technology while providing good jobs and abundant food for American families. We do so without direct subsidy checks from the Federal government-- unlike our foreign counterparts whose governments often both directly and indirectly subsidize their farms.”
President Trump has been focused on renegotiating all of the bad deals the U.S. has been tied to, including having renegotiated the Mexican-U.S. suspension agreement in 2017 due to Mexican sugar farmers cheating.
In 2014, they illegally flooded the U.S. market with heavily-subsidized sugar and causes $4 billion worth of economic damage domestically.
Trump has made it a focal point of his administration to protect American farmers by trying to keep global competition fair by reevaluating long-standing trade deals like the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
New Sugar deal negotiated with Mexico is a very good one for both Mexico and the U.S. Had no deal for many years which hurt U.S. badly.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 29, 2017
“New Sugar deal negotiated with Mexico is a very good one for both Mexico and the U.S. Had no deal for many years which hurt U.S. badly,” tweeted President Trump
By reading news reports on how the American farmer is struggling across the country because of the trade war with China, and because of the extreme flooding and heat that have plagued farmers, one would not think that Trump is not doing much to help our farmers.
According to his 2020 re-election campaign, who responded to The Floridian’s request for comment, President Trump has “taken bold actions” to assist American farmers and continues to do so by strengthening trade deals.
“President Trump has taken bold actions to help American farmers, after years of neglect by past administration,” stated Trump 2020 communications director, Tim Murtaugh.” Farmers know that the President’s efforts to strengthen trade deals and expand markets for American products are not only good for them, but for our economy at large.”
