Candy and sugar have never been friends in America’s policy-making battles, but these days, their rivalry has turned even bitter. The American sugar lobby and the candy manufacturers are both trying to convince the Trump administration and Congress of their respective points of view. The candy industry says government regulations do not allow a free market for sugar, and American sugar policy is tilted to protect the vested interests of about 18,000 sugarcane and sugar beet growers. The sugar lobby says the candy makers are greedy.

Americans eat chocolates and candies worth $35 billion every year. Hershey leads the confectionery market with 31% share. By restricting imports and the amount of sugar produced and sold in the U.S., the government seeks to avoid its oversupply or shortage. Every year, the Department of Agriculture forecasts sugar consumption and trade and sets production quotas. The candy lobby — which even has a Candy Political Action Committee to raise money for favourite politicians — says this policy damages the industry and consumers.

“Large confectioners have nothing to complain about. They pay less for sugar than their counterparts in other developed countries and have boosted profits under the current sugar policy,” says the Sugar Alliance. According to the group, sugar prices are as low today as they were 30 years ago and it accuses candy makers of hiking prices by 300% over that time. “Food manufacturers pocket the windfall from falling sugar prices instead of sharing the savings with consumers,” the sugar lobby says and points out that the confectioners boast of “higher profit margins than hospitals, defence contractors, and even Hollywood”. Candy makers have announced over 100 major expansion projects since 2012.

The candy lobby has its own statistics to counter the sugar lobby. According to the National Confectioners Association (NCA), the government’s support to sugar costs U.S. consumers and businesses up to $3.5 billion annually and will cost taxpayers $115 million over the next 10 years. “There are 6,00,000 people employed in direct manufacturing in the sugar-using industry that are negatively impacted by this programme and 18,000 growers that are benefiting,” it argues, and calculates that 10,000 jobs per year in the U.S. food industry are lost due to government support for the sugar lobby. “The U.S. Department of Commerce estimates that for every one sugar-growing job saved by high U.S. sugar prices, approximately three American manufacturing jobs are lost.”

Ethical questions

The NCA held a conference at a Trump property in Florida in early March and three more of their meetings will be held at hotels owned by the President’s family, raising yet another ethical controversy. The group says the bookings were made much before Donald Trump won the presidency, but it hopes to create a favourable environment for the industry under the new dispensation. The sugar lobby is determined to resist it. Testifying before a Congressional committee on Tuesday, a representative of the Sugar Alliance sought further protection from Mexican sugar import. He also accused India of subsiding sugar production. It is not that the candy makers and sugar makers are never on the same page. Americans consume more than twice the recommended amount of added sugar intake, and this is linked to a wide range of health issues in the country. Opposition to public policy initiatives to reduce sugar intake is one topic that unites sugar producers and sugar buying industries.