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 January 28, 2003 The Honorable Robert B. Zoellick U.S. Trade Representative 600 17th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20506 Dear Ambassador Zoellick: As the leaders of the $4.5 billion corn sweetener producing industry, we would like to personally thank you for your tireless efforts, and those of Ambassador Johnson, in working to secure a negotiated settlement with Mexico on trade in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and sugar. We fully appreciate how difficult a task it is to find a market-opening negotiated solution and how critical a good solution is to our trade agenda with Mexico and to the agricultural trade agenda more broadly. A lot is on the line. Our industry has borne the full brunt of the lack of a resolution for more than five years. In 2002, this issue became acute since the Mexican market - our number one corn sweetener export market with huge potential - was completely shut down by a discriminatory Mexican tax on beverages made with HFCS. The soda tax, which also cut off U.S. bulk corn sales to Mexico used in the production of HFCS, followed a long history of additional barriers, including WTO and NAFTA-illegal actions against our industry. The corn-based sweetener industry is a significant contributor to the U.S. economy. Of the more than 370,000 total jobs in the U.S. sugar and corn sweetener sector, more than 226,000 are involved in bringing corn-based products to the market. As a result of the loss of HFCS and related bulk corn market access in Mexico for the past twelve months, this industry has idled capacity, lost jobs, and experienced significant losses in profitability. This is in addition to the previous adverse consequences of this longstanding sweetener impasse with Mexico. We are a major agricultural industry that invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the promise of the NAFTA and its market-opening, trade-expanding prospects, which have proven to be illusory. We are a pro-trade industry that has had its number one HFCS export market literally snatched away over this impasse. This is a dire situation. We are looking at even a more significant diminishment of this industry and its prospects if we cannot rectify this situation soon. We know you have a lot to balance in this equation. We not only support, but we count on your persistence, and the persistence of Ambassador Johnson, in finding a market opening solution soon with Mexico that will be key to reviving our industry's growth in the near and longer term. We will continue to work with you and your office to achieve an integrated and competitive North American market for sweeteners as promised by the NAFTA. In that regard, we respectfully request a meeting with you on this issue at your earliest available opportunity. Sincerely, G. Allen Andreas Chairman and Chief Executive Archer Daniels Midland Company Warren Staley Chief Executive Officer Cargill, Incorporated Samuel C. Scott President and Chief Executive Officer Corn Products International, Inc. Fred Yoder President National Corn Growers Association Michael W. Jorgenson President and Chief Executive Officer Roquette America, Inc. J. Patrick Mohan President, North America Support Services Tate & Lyle North America, Inc. Note: The letter was also sent to Agriculture Secretary Ann M. Veneman and Secretary of State Colin Powell. For more information on the corn refining industry, visit the Corn Capsules newsletter page. 
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