Mary Landrieu:
As it is currently written, this trade agreement
would have a serious and harmful affect on sugar producers in my state.
The sugar industry of Louisiana is not only the economic life blood of
many communities, it is a way of life and a part of who we are.
Mr. Chairman, many of my concerns over this proposed trade
agreement were summed up in a recent letter from Louisiana Governor
Kathleen Blanco to President Bush. Governor Blanco urged the
President to withdraw the trade deal for one simple reason:
CAFTA will
equal job loss and financial despair for 27,000 Louisiana sugar workers
and farmers.
“The economic impact of CAFTA and other bi-lateral trade
agreements on the state will be disastrous. Louisiana stands to lose $750
million in direct sugar sales, as well as $2 billion in industry-related
revenue each year.”
Blanco's-sugar farmers see a massive subsidy in their future. They would have little reason to shop for another candidate when their Governor provided them with the greatest agricultural subsidy since the New Deal.