Valley congressional group says Bush administration's 'secret plan' would undermine U.S. sugar program after elections.

WASHINGTON - In an attempt to urge Red River Valley sugar growers to vote for Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., for president, Minnesota and North Dakota Democratic senators and House members issued a joint statement Oct. 28 that the Bush administration has a "secret" plan to complete trade negotiations that would gut the sugar program immediately after the election.

North Dakota Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, Minnesota Sen. Mark Dayton and Reps. Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Earl Pomeroy of North Dakota said the Bush administration's "record on sugar trade issues should scare every sugar beet grower and factory worker. It should set off alarm bells up and down every main street in every community in the Red River Valley."

The group noted that the Central American Free Trade Agreement would increase sugar imports and that Bush officials have continued negotiations with the Andean countries and Panama, but have not discussed the details.

Kerry wrote Peterson on Oct. 12 that he would oppose CAFTA and deal with sugar in the World Trade Organization, not bilateral agreements.

Vice President Richard Cheney also said on a recent visit to Fargo, N.D., that the Bush administration wants to negotiate sugar in the WTO, but the Democrats point out that Bush negotiators did include sugar in CAFTA and that it is also under negotiation in the Andean and Panama pacts.

Conrad also wrote Trade Representative Bob Zoellick Oct. 28 that Zoellick's staff recently had told congressional staffers in a briefing that the Bush administration's doesn't want to reveal its sugar offer in the Andean or Panama negotiations until after Election Day because it is too politically sensitive.

Conrad demanded that Zoellick commit to renegotiating the sugar provisions in CAFTA and to omitting sugar from the Andean and Panama negotiations. "I look forward to a prompt, clear affirmative response to these two questions," Conrad wrote. "Anything less will only lead the industry to conclude that you do, in fact, have a secret plan to undermine the U.S. sugar program as soon as Election Day has passed."

A Zoellick spokesman said Oct. 29, "Sen. Conrad is making wild and baseless charges - he knows the biggest trade agreement we've completed in this administration excludes sugar," an apparent reference to the U.S.-Australia free trade agreement.

The Zoellick spokesman continued, "We've gotten the European Union to commit to eliminate sugar export subsidies, and we're working to level the playing field for sugar globally in the WTO. We've handled sugar with great care in all our trade agreements, which have helped boost all of America's farm trade. That's why the American Farm Bureau supports our efforts, which have delivered record export levels, strong prices and higher farm incomes."

Conrad responded to Zoellick statements, saying that "This Administration's record on sugar is clear. In CAFTA, it negotiated dramatically increased imports of sugar, and it has made it clear that it has no intention of stopping with CAFTA. If the CAFTA precedent is followed in the additional trade deals the Administration is currently negotiating, the increased sugar imports will destroy our sugar industry.

"I asked Ambassador Zoellick to take sugar off the table in the Panama and Andean trade talks. His refusal to do so speaks volumes about his intentions when negotiations resume after Election Day."

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