September 21, 2021

The deep political divide between Republicans and Democrats has made agreement in Washington rarer than some comet sightings, so when an issue unites entrenched political combatants in a common cause it deserves serious attention.

The topic at hand is the need to end sweeping foreign subsidies of sugar, which undermine an important industry that supports some 142,000 jobs in 22 states.

At issue is a congressional resolution introduced recently aimed at upping the pressure on other nations to eliminate the foreign subsidies that make sugar the world’s most distorted commodity market. The bipartisan resolution lays on the table an offer to abusing countries around the globe and offers guidelines for the Biden administration – the U.S. will drop its own market protections of domestic sugar producers, but only in exchange for the elimination of all foreign sugar subsidies.

“Time and again, the survival of American sugar producers is threatened by the unfair practices and dumping of cheap sugar subsidized by foreign countries,” said Rep.Kat Cammack, R-Fla., who authored the resolution with Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., and which has the support of numerous members of both parties.

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