Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) recently introduced legislation that would lift harmful price controls on sugar products.
The Saving Workers by Eliminating Economic Tampering (SWEET) Act would repeal the Sugar Program’s protectionist subsidies that artificially raise the cost of sugar in the United States and serve as hidden taxes on American consumers.
The current U.S. sugar program is packed with price supports, import quotas and tariffs that have solely benefited the sugar industry to the detriment of consumers and taxpayers. So much so that in the United States, the average wholesale price of domestically produced sugar is roughly 2.5 times higher than the world’s average price of sugar. As a result, not only are taxpayer dollars subsidizing the sugar industry, but American consumers are being forced to pay higher prices for sugar-based products.
The downstream effects of the sugar program are a damaging force on the U.S. economy. Roughly $3 billion in costs are shifted to manufacturers in the form of a hidden sugar tax annually, forcing consumers to pay more for food. Since the price of sugar has become artificially higher in the U.S., many manufactures have moved their operations outside of the country in order to pay the cheaper, market value for sugar. This has inevitably led to a loss of nearly 10,000 jobs per year.
The Sugar Program’s crony capitalist policies have been put in place to benefit the sugar industry and have greatly hurt American consumers, workers, businesses, and manufacturers.
The SWEET Act would spur competition, save American jobs, and lower the price of sugar-based food products for consumers.
ATR applauds Rep. Perry for introducing the SWEET Act and for his continued efforts to create a freer, stronger economy.