It is easy for most Americans to not fully realize the effects of the sugar market on our economy. Sugar is an essential component to our agriculture industry that involves jobs, revenues, and affects the price of many other products. Recently, India’s government announced it would be pumping more government subsidies into its country’s sugar production industry. This continued practice of foreign governments “rigging the game” through billions in subsidies to their sugar farmers is continuing to hurt the global market, including conditions right here in the United States. These “sugar dumps” give foreign suppliers an unfair advantage against American...
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As foreign suppliers jockey for position in the evolving global economy, it’s time for lawmakers to take a stand against a “hack” some countries have been using to give their sugar industries an unfair advantage over our own. A new study published by Texas Tech University illustrates that many foreign competitors are channeling billions of dollars in subsidies into their sugar production and trade models. Examples of that practice include Brazil, who subsidized $2.5 billion for promotion of its sugar and ethanol industry, India whose $1.7 billion in subsidies were brought into question by the World Trade Organization, and Thailand...
Read MoreWASHINGTON, D.C.–Hispanic Leadership Fund President Mario H. Lopez issued the following statement following the Trump Administration’s announcement of forthcoming massive tariffs on steel and aluminum imports: “Over the last year we have seen substantial progress on pro-growth economic policies that have helped created thousands of new jobs and put more money back in the pockets of working class Americans, including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and regulatory reform. But the 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent tariffs on aluminum proposed by the president are a job-killing tax hike on American consumers and put at risk the economic...
Read MoreWASHINGTON, D.C.–Hispanic Leadership Fund President, Mario H. Lopez, issued the following statement in response to President Donald Trump’s speech today in Miami on Cuba policy: “The Hispanic Leadership Fund applauds President Trump for working to ensure that U.S. funds are not channeled to a government that fails to meet the most fundamental requirements of a free and just society. We have always maintained that the Cuban military and security apparatus, which are the instruments that the communist government uses to oppress the Cuban people, should not benefit from U.S.-derived revenue. “The Obama’s Administration’s ‘opening to Cuba’ was a shameful surrender...
Read MoreThe Obama Administration’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Intellectual Property Rights (ITAC) has just released a new report on the status of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a new trade agreement between the United States. and 11 other countries around the Pacific Rim. The TPP agreement is set to lower intellectual property protections for promising new biologic medicines by setting the minimum period for data protection at eight years—down from the current 12 year standard in the U.S. where many biologic manufacturers are located. While the ITAC report states that this shortened period will create uncertainty for the inventors of innovative...
Read MoreWASHINGTON, D.C.— Today the Hispanic Leadership Fund announced the launch of the Alliance for Innovation and Development (A4ID), a coalition project that focuses on the promotion of new and innovative solutions to meeting the challenge of sustainable, long-term economic growth and development. The Alliance will highlight policy ideas from a variety of sources that focus on innovative and creative solutions in three broad areas that are critical to promoting prosperity in the 21stCentury: Responsive and transparent government Economic growth and development Access and advancement in telecommunications “The spark that fuels all innovation is human creativity and ingenuity,” said Hispanic Leadership...
Read MoreThe BBC News today reported the ruling of Ghana’s court that the Argentine military training vessel, the ARA Libertad, could be seized by creditors because of billions of dollars of unpaid U.S. debts. The ship has been berthed at Tema’s port since October 1, unable to leave until the Argentine government posts bond to creditors who are seeking enforcement in Ghana of judgments against Argentina. Ghana’s court ruling in favor of U.S. creditors is a victory for U.S. taxpayers and for the people of Ghana – signaling its respect for international norms both within its borders and when dealing with...
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