• Present concerns over (1) the possibility of Mexico's tariff rate quota rights under NAFTA being increased at the expense of sugar industries of other exporting countries; (2) proposals to assist the domestic sugar industry that would impact quota rights of third countries; and (3) disposal of surplus sugar stocks in U.S. government inventories resulting in disruption of world sugar markets. Legislation of interest includes the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 (S. 2302 and H.R. 2419; P.L. 110-234).

Duration: January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2011

General Issues: Agriculture

Spending: about $0 (But it's complicated. Here's why.)

It can be tricky to figure out how much an organization spent on a particular lobbying engagement. The law only requires lobbyists to report the amount they were paid for federal lobbying each quarter rounded to the nearest $10,000—and if it's less than $3,000 in a given quarter (or less than $13,000 for organizations with in-house lobbyists), they don't have to disclose it at all. Plus, some organizations include spending that doesn’t belong in the report—for instance, money spent lobbying state governments or other legal work.

Agencies lobbied since 2008: House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Agriculture - Dept of (USDA),, Agriculture - Dept of (USDA), U.S. Trade Representative (USTR)