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October 9, 2003 The following letter was sent to by Senator Tom Harkin, Ranking Member, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry: His Excellency Luis Ernesto Derbez Foreign Minister Ministry of Foreign Affairs His Excellency Fernando Canales Secretary of the Economy Ministry of the Economy His Excellency Javier Bernando Usabiaga Arroyo Secretary of Agriculture Ministry of Agriculture Dear_______: As Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, I take note of the longstanding dispute between the United States and Mexico on high fructose corn syrup and urge your government's immediate action to resolve this matter. For nearly two years, the U.S. corn sweetener industry has been denied access to your market, its top export destination, due to a discriminatory soft drink tax. In addition, due to the shutdown of HFCS production in Mexico, significant investment and job losses have been suffered by companies that made substantial investments in Mexican HFCS capacity. Previous actions taken by your government to impede corn sweetener trade were found to be illegal by various dispute resolution panels. It has been made clear by a number of Mexican government officials that the sole purpose of this current tax is to protect the domestic sugar industry in Mexico. Lack of an equitable solution on sweeteners is harmful on both sides of the border. The soda tax has taken a tremendous toll on the U.S. corn industry. Jobs have been lost and plant capacity has been idled. For Mexico, it means lost sales for your corn growers and corn sweetener industry and creates an overall negative investment climate. If this issue is not resolved in the very near term, my fellow Senators and I will have little choice but to explore counter measures affecting Mexico's export interests to the United States. I do not make this statement lightly. I value a healthy trade relationship between our two countries, especially in agriculture. Together, we must make every effort to restart our sweetener trade in a manner that is acceptable to all interested parties. Such an outcome is consistent with the underlying principles of the North American Free Trade Agreement. I welcome the dialog that is now underway between our respective sweetener industries. However, action at the Federal level must also be taken to ensure that the soda tax is eliminated during Mexico's current legislative session and that sweetener trade resumes this year between our two countries. Sincerely, Senator Tom Harkin Ranking Democratic Member Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry 
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