Hoeven calls for Section 301 sugar investigation, higher Tier-2 tariff

Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D., told Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday that the Trump administration should initiate a Section 301 investigation into “unfair and discriminatory trade practices by foreign sugar-producing countries” and that the Tier-2 tariff on imported sugar needs to be raised.

Hoeven made the point to Rollins at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing, and said in news release that he also made the same point to Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in a conversation. On May 20, Hoeven led a letter from 112 members of Congress calling for USTR to take action.

In the news release, Hoeven said:

• That the Tier-2 tariff meant to defend U.S. sugar production from discriminatory foreign trade practices is wholly ineffective and has not been updated in 26 years.
• The erosion of the Tier-2 tariffs has led to a more than 700% increase in out-of-quota sugar imports between fiscal years (FY) 2021 and 2025 compared to the prior five-year period.
• North Dakota State University Agricultural Risk Policy Center’s study analyzing the impact of over-quota sugar imports on domestic sugar prices found that Tier-2 imports depressed U.S. domestic raw sugar prices and resulted in an estimated loss of up to $1.8 billion for the domestic U.S. sugar industry last year.

“We need to adjust Tier-2 tariff rates for our sugar industry. It’s vitally important as this is a huge industry for our region, and important for the country, as well. I spoke with Jamieson Greer, our U.S. trade representative, and I emphasized we need to get it done,” said Hoeven.

A spokesperson for the American Sugar Alliance, which represents beet and cane growers, said, “USTR (and the president) have full authority under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to investigate unfair trade practices by foreign countries and can propose the imposition of tariffs as a remedy, above the statutory tariff levels outlined in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.”