Letter from Congress asks for help for U.S. sugar growers

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

POCATELLO – More than 100 members of Congress signed a letter that urges U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to protect America’s sugar beet and sugar cane farmers from “unfair and discriminatory trade practices by foreign sugar-producing countries.”

Sugar beets are one of Idaho’s main crops and impact the state’s economy to the tune of billions of dollars per year.

“We are gravely concerned about the surge in unfairly traded foreign sugar imports, which, along with higher input costs, are plunging the domestic industry into crisis and presenting an imminent threat to the industry’s long-term viability,” the May 20 letter states.

According to the bipartisan and bicameral letter, which was signed by 110 members of Congress, sugar farming families and workers in the United States support more than 151,000 jobs and generate more than $23 billion in economic activity each year.

The Snake River Sugarbeet Growers Association represents about 600 farmers in Idaho, Oregon and Washington that plant a combined 180,000 acres of sugar beets each year. About 500 of those farms and 170,000 of those acres are in Idaho.

Idaho ranks No. 2 in the nation in total sugar beet production.

“Our industry is thrilled to see the bipartisan support for this letter,” said SRSGA Executive Director Samantha Parrott. “It means a lot to see the support we have on the Hill for our industry.”

The letter was endorsed by American Farm Bureau Federation, SRSGA and other agricultural organizations, as well as all four members of Idaho’s congressional delegation.

It asks the USTR to investigate countries that the U.S. sugar industry believes are using unfair trade practices and heavily subsidizing their sugar growers to create more production.

“And then they’re dumping that sugar on the world market and it’s finding its way into the United States,” Parrott said.

“We strongly urge you to investigate these unfair trading practices that disadvantage our domestic sugar industry and take decisive action as appropriate,” the letter states.

The letter also asks the USTR to look at the U.S. sugar program’s tier two tariff rate.

The United States has a sugar policy that is outlined in the farm bill and regulates the flow of sugar into the country.

The U.S. sugar program supports flexible domestic marketing allotments and, through the use of tariff rate quotas, or tier one tariff rates, permits specified volumes of sugar shipments from 40 nations.

A separate and higher tier two tariff rate is intended to prevent an excess supply of sugar from destabilizing the U.S. market. This tier two tariff rate has not been adjusted since 2000 and, according to the letter, has “become wholly ineffective in protecting our domestic industry from excess foreign supply.”

As a result, the letter adds, “Record levels of unfairly traded sugar have entered the U.S. since 2023, flooding the domestic market, depressing prices, jeopardizing the financial stability of our domestic producers, and threatening forfeitures.”

During a recent meeting with fellow Idaho Farm Bureau Federation members, Amalgamated Sugar Co. board chairman Mike Garner talked about the severe financial challenge that Idaho sugar beet farmers are facing right now.

“We’re in survival mode right now,” he said. “We’re consolidating where we can, we’re cutting back where we can without hurting ourselves.”

Sugar beets are one of Idaho’s top crops in terms of total acres and revenue and are typically one of the state’s most reliable crops, Parrott said.

“Growers really rely on sugar beets to help them pay the bills, so it’s such a staple commodity for these small family farms here in Idaho,” she said.

“It’s a big commodity in the state and there are a lot of people that depend on it,” Garner said.

Parrott said U.S. sugar beet farmers are facing dire times financially because of the unfair trading practices and out-of-date tier two tariff rate. She estimates SRSGA growers lost between $500 and $700 per acre in 2025.

“The market is way over-supplied right now and that has really tanked the price,” she said. “It’s been tough for our growers.”