04/18/05 C.A.F.T.A.-D.R. and the NW, Finale

If one were to decide if the Central American Free Trade Agreement and its companion F.T.A. between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic would benefit Northwest agriculture and the region's economy, based on the number of national commodity groups in support of the agreement, then the region would stand to gain significantly. Most major national commodity groups, representing beef, dairy, wheat and grains, apples and other fruits and vegetables, support C.A.F.T.A.-D.R. However, there is one commodity group that from the beginning has stood opposed. And that is the sugar industry. Federal officials have said the concerns of groups like the American Sugar Alliance are legitimate, and therefore, protections have been put in place in C.A.F.T.A.-D.R. that would make the impact, at worst case, minimal for the U.S. sugar industry. But Jack Roney of the A.S.A. says that despite the protections, his industry would still suffer. RONEY: The concessions as they currently stand would devastate our industry. In the short term, the extra 100,000 tons of access that we granted to the C.A.F.T.A. countries would trigger off our marketing allotments and cause a cascade of block stocks & stocks we're now holding off the market onto the market. And that would mean making already low prices even more depressed. And according to Ralph Burton, Executive and C.E.O. of Amalgamated Sugar Company that is one more potential negative his industry doesn't need to deal with right now. BURTON: We're already the fourth largest importer of sugar in the world and with all of this sugar standing outside the doors threatening to come in, we have sugar containing products that N.A.F.T.A. is already allowing to come in uncounted and unchecked. We have a fixed amount of sugar that can be produced. Then add concerns by some in the sugar industry that the C.A.F.T.A.-D.R. deal for sugar is a template for other upcoming F.T.A.'s. Burton says his company has already closed down a plant in Nyssa, Oregon, not because of trade deals but for just about all of the factors mentioned. So he is worried how a deal like C.A.F.T.A.-D.R. will impact our region, not just from a sugar industry standpoint, but from the aspect of potentially depressing prices for other commodities if sugar beet growers are placed out of business and have to find other alternatives. BURTON: If we were to lose the Northwest sugar industry, which affects about 1,100 to 1,200 farmers and approximately 200,000 acres in Idaho and Oregon, Washington, that acreage has got to be planted to something else. And we don't need more onions. We don't need more potatoes.