| This background paper is devoted to US sugar policy. A first section describes the features and economics of the US sugar program; a second section is devoted to the welfare and trade effects of the US sugar program; and a final section reports on potential emerging reforms, their expected effects, and implications. Beyond well-established findings on the social cost and inefficiency of the US sugar program, the main findings of this paper are as follows. The current sugar program is becoming unsustainable because sugar imports are progressively creeping into the US market through regional trade agreements, eventually inducing large sugar inventories, or contracting domestic production to unpalatable low levels in order to maintain high internal prices.... |
