Mexican Sugar Industry Pushes U.S. to Revise Rules That Slashed Export Quota

Mexico's sugar industry is urging the United States to scrap a rule that has cut its U.S. export quota to roughly 180,000 tonnes from an average of 1 million tonnes, a senior agricultural negotiator said on June 2, 2026. Juan Cortina, representative of Mexico's National Agricultural Council in trade talks under the USMCA, said a U.S. calculation known as "future imports paying the tariff" has rapidly displaced Mexican sugar. The quota has shrunk drastically in recent cycles under suspension agreements that once allowed Mexico to fill any excess U.S. demand before other suppliers. "This measure immediately took away Mexico's space, and the U.S. started importing sugar while paying the tariff," Cortina said. The collapse has weighed on local sugar prices and forced excess supply onto the world market at lower returns. Mexico last year imposed ad-valorem tariffs as high as 210.44% on sugar imports to shield its market. Cortina pressed for a return to pre-2022 calculation methods and a U.S. tariff hike on third-country sugar. If unresolved, Mexico's industry is preparing an antidumping case against U.S. fructose, which enters Mexico duty-free and displaces local sugar consumption.