The government expressed its satisfaction with the U.S. House of Representatives’ decision to keep the current sugar system unchanged. A bill aimed at phasing out the American Sugar Program in five years’ time had been introduced in Congress as part of the new farming law. The bill, known as the Miller-Schumer Amendment, was defeated by a narrow vote of 217 to 208.
The Dominican authorities had joined U.S. and other Caribbean producers in lobbying for the maintenance of the program, which grants preferential prices to those participating in a quota system. Although the local sugar industry is plagued by a plethora of difficulties, the country continues to be the world’s fourth largest producer of sugar, holding 17 percent of the global output.