United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1999-07-26 monographic deposited born digital 55 p. GA 1.13:RCED-99-209 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-209 P0b002ee1803a144d f:rc99209 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-209 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-209 RCED-99-209 Import restriction Sugar Agricultural production Prices and pricing Agricultural programs Import regulation Foreign trade policies Farm income stabilization programs Tariffs USDA Sugar Program Letter Report RCED In 1998, U.S. consumers used nearly 10 million tons of sugar, about 16 percent of which was imported. The amount of sugar imported into this country is set each year by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Under the U.S. sugar program, USDA insulates domestic growers and processors from lower world prices for raw sugar by restricting the supply of sugar that can be imported at a low tariff rate. The U.S. Trade Representative, working with USDA, allocates shares of the tariff-rate quota among 40 countries. By law, the sugar program also supports domestic sugar prices by offering loans to processors at a rate of 18 cents per pound for raw cane sugar and about 23 cents per pound for refined beet sugar, with the sugar serving as collateral for the loans. The program allows sugar processors to forfeit their sugar to their federal government instead of repaying their loans--a likely outcome if domestic sugar prices fall below a certain level. This report describes and evaluates (1) USDA's procedures for setting the tariff-rate quota for imported raw sugar and (2) the U.S. Trade Representatives' procedures for allocating the quota among sugar-producing countries. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-209/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-209.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-209/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-209.pdf GAO/RCED-99-209 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-99-209 Letter Report GAO/RCED-99-209; Sugar Program: Changing the Method for Setting Import; Import restriction Sugar Agricultural production Prices and pricing Agricultural programs Import regulation Foreign trade policies Farm income stabilization programs Tariffs USDA Sugar Program Public Law 105-277