OTTAWA – Canada’s high anti-dumping duties on imports of American sugar have been upheld by an international trade disputes panel, bringing a sigh of relief from Canadian sugar beet farmers and sugar plants.
“In the real world, if we had not had (anti-dumping duties), some of the most efficient sugar beet producers in the world would have been driven out of the business,” Canadian Federation of Agriculture trade specialist Don Knoerr told MPs last week.
He said the duties imposed 15 months ago have stemmed the flood of cheaper, subsidized American sugar that threatened to destroy the market for beet producers.
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“We would have seen the destruction of the sugar beet industry.”
But at least one MP on a Commons committee studying Canada’s anti-dumping law heard a different reaction to the decision from a company in his constituency.
Job loss warning
Ron MacDonald, a Nova Scotia Liberal who is a member of the all-party Parliament Hill sugar caucus, told Knoerr he expected nothing but supportive reaction when the duties were upheld in trade law.
Instead, a company in his riding which wants to use cheaper American sugar in its production is threatening to move 1,000 jobs to the U.S.
“This is not necessarily a victory from the industry point of view,” said MacDonald, parliamentary secretary to the trade minister. “This is a complicated issue.”
MPs and witnesses noted importers and domestic producers often have different interests.
The ruling from a trade disputes panel set up under the North American Free Trade Agreement rejected a challenge to Canada’s duties from American sugar producer Savannah Foods and Industries Inc.
However, it ordered Canada to provide more information on how it sets those duty levels, to make sure the levels charged are reasonable.
For Canada’s sugar producers, the duty has had the desired effect.
During the first half of the year, imports of American sugar fell to 20,000 tonnes from 74,000 during the same period last year.
The duties took effect in July 1995.
