Sosland: I.T.C finds injury in sugar dumping case

WASHINGTON — The U.S. International Trade Commission on May 9 made a preliminary determination of injury and will proceed with antidumping and countervailing duty investigations of U.S. imports of sugar from Mexico. The preliminary determination follows a decision by the U.S. Department of Commerce to initiate the case on April 18. U.S. sugar producers petitioned the I.T.C. and the D.O.C. on March 28 claiming subsidized Mexican sugar was being dumped in the U.S. market at a cost of about $1 billion to U.S. sugar producers in the current marketing year.

“Given the low threshold for determining injury in the U.S. I.T.C.’s preliminary determination, we are not surprised by today’s ruling,” the Sweetener Users Association said following the May 9 decision. “The vote simply allows the investigation to continue. However, while U.S. sugar producers had the right to file the petition under U.S. law and the U.S. I.T.C. has at this early stage made a preliminary determination of injury, it should not be assumed that the case has merit. To the contrary, we expect that the U.S. sugar producers will lose when the U.S. I.T.C. is able to complete the full investigation.”  (more…)