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FSCL NAFTA Statement 



We support "Fair" trade. And for NAFTA to similarly embrace "Fair" trade it 

 should recognize that: 



* Sweeteners are sweeteners, and Mexico's sugar net exporter status should be 

 determined by including corn sweeteners. Otherwise the cost of Mexico 

 shifting to this sweetener will be borne by the U.S. sugar industry, which 

 already paid for such a transition when U.S. beverage companies switched 

 from sugar to corn sweeteners. And to prevent substitution of imported 

 sugar, Mexico should be required to apply the common external tariff to all 

 non-NAFTA sugar imports when it does achieve net exporter status. 



* Mexico's access to the U.S. market should not be unlimited. It should not be 

 allowed to send its entire exportable surplus to the United States, at the 

 expense of a vital U.S. industry, and traditional sugar exporting nations. 



* Different environmental quality, food safety and labor regulation standards 

 create a production cost differential that is inherently unfair. First the 

 agreement must be modified to include a price-based safeguard mechanism 

 that will help offset this advantage and that will cushion the domestic 

 industry from the impact of a surge of imports. Similarly, the agreement 

 should be modified to "harmonize" the environmental quality, food safety 

 and labor standards among NAFTA nations. 



