February 16, 2015
The Australian Dairyfarmer by John Kehoe | http://goo.gl/Wmifh5
NOT even John Howard's comradeship with George W Bush could dissolve the power of the US sugar lobby, which will now become a crucial part of free-trade negotiations.
In Washington, a renewed push by a group of bipartisan senators last week will have caught the attention of Australian trade negotiators as they seek to hammer out the final details of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The proposed Sugar Reform Act aims to ditch the costly protection of American sugar growers that has virtually shut out Queensland cane growers from the US market.
The featherbedding of the US sugar industry is a symptom of almost everything that is wrong about American politics: the influence of money, special interests and lobbying. It highlights how the United States is not always the bastion of free market capitalism many assume.
Strategic donations
Sugar represents about one per cent of the US agriculture sector, but accounts for about 20 per cent of the farm industry's political campaign contributions.
In the 2014 congressional election cycle, individuals and political action committees associated with the sugar industry contributed $US5.5 million ($7 million), almost evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, according to OpenSecrets.org.
The sugar money has been sprinkled strategically. Senator Thad Cochran, chairman of the appropriations committee and member of the agriculture subcommittee, received the largest contribution of $US81,500 from the sugar sector, OpenSecrets.org says.
The second-top recipient with $US71,400 was Collin Peterson, a ranking member of the House agriculture committee and representative for the sugar-beet rich Minnesota. Fourth with $US54,400 was Senator Charles Schumer of New York, a member of the finance committee that writes legislation for trade agreements.
In other cases, members of Congress who have no sugar interests in their State but have an important vote on legislation received substantial donations.