Letter to the Secretary of Agriculture on the American Sugar Industry

To Secretary Bob Bergland

On March 17, 1977, the United States International Trade Commission (USITC) reported to me the results of its investigation, conducted under Section 201 of the Trade Act of 1974, in which the Commission determined that increased imports of sugar are a substantial cause of the threat of serious injury to the domestic sugar industry. The USITC recommended the imposition of an annual quota of 4.275 million short tons, raw value, for a five-year period beginning with calendar year 1977, to be allocated among supplying countries in an equitable manner.

I have determined today that import relief is not in the national economic interest. However, I believe that a strong and viable domestic sugar industry is vital to the economic well-being of the American people, and that this can best be achieved by the negotiation and implementation of an International Sugar Agreement. As you know, I have instructed our negotiators to enter into negotiations regarding such an agreement and discussions are now underway in Geneva.

In the interim, pending completion of these negotiations, I have decided that the implementation of domestic measures are necessary to help U.S. producers arid processors through the present period of low prices. Accordingly, I hereby request that you institute, pursuant to Section 301 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1949, a program for sugar producers, effective with the 1977 crop, offering supplemental payments of up to two cents a pound, whenever the market price falls beneath 13.5 cents per pound, for the interim period, until an International Sugar Agreement is successfully negotiated and implemented.
Sincerely,

JIMMY CARTER

[The Honorable Bob S. Bergland, Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D.C. 20250]