Rep. Shontel Brown Reaffirms Support for American Sugar Production, Leveling the Playing Field

VAIL, CO – Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH-11), Vice Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee, addressed sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers and industry representatives as they opened the 41st International Sweetener Symposium today in Colorado.

The global sugar market is one of the most distorted commodity markets, and Rep. Brown detailed how foreign countries utilize subsidies and unfair trade practices to put American producers at a disadvantage.

“In other words, this is not a level playing field, and our sugar producers aren’t getting a fair shake,” Rep. Brown explained.

Rep. Brown was among the 112 members of Congress who recently urged the U.S. Trade Representative to take immediate action against the flood of over-quota foreign sugar devastating the livelihoods of family farmers and factory workers.

“That market manipulation has driven billions of dollars in losses across the industry, and if we don’t act, we’ll continue watching factories close, communities lose jobs, and generations of family farms disappear,” she said.

America’s sugar industry continues to earn bipartisan congressional support, and members like Rep. Brown recognize the importance of producing sugar in America.

“Standing up for American sugar isn’t just a partisan issue. It’s about standing up for American workers, American manufacturing, and American agriculture,” Rep. Brown said.

Once a sugarbeet-producing state, Ohio continues to play an essential role in ensuring sugar makes it from American fields and factories to the kitchen table. Distribution facilities in Fremont and Toledo, Ohio, store sugar extracted from sugarbeets raised in Michigan and package that sugar for delivery to food manufacturers and store shelves.

As Vice Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee, Rep. Brown shared that maintaining strong domestic supply chains for food products, including sugar, remains a top priority.

“I recognize that sugar truly is coast-to-coast and border-to-border,” Rep. Brown said. “You are growing food, supporting family farms, sustaining American manufacturing, creating good-paying union jobs, and strengthening communities.”

The U.S. sugar industry supports more than 151,000 jobs across the country, including American manufacturing jobs in areas where other job opportunities might be limited. Much of the sugar made in America is done so by a union workforce.