{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fedorchak.house.gov/media/press-releases/fedorchak-hoeven-slotkin-carter-lead-call-section-301-investigation-unfair", "Fedorchak, Hoeven, Slotkin, & Carter lead call for Section 301 Investigation into unfair sugar trade practices", "2026-05-21", "2026", "2026-05", "Republican", "House", "ND", "Julie Fedorchak", "F000482", "fedorchak.house.gov", "fedorchak", "https://fedorchak.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Representatives Julie Fedorchak (R-N.D.) and Troy Carter (D-La.) and Senators John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) today led a bipartisan, bicameral effort, along with 112 of their colleagues, in support of efforts by U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Jamieson Greer to utilize a Section 301 investigation into unfair and discriminatory trade practices by foreign sugar-producing countries. They call on USTR to take appropriate action to protect American sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers, processors, refiners, and factory workers from being undercut by discriminatory foreign trade practices. In the letter, the members of Congress:\n\n\u201cThe sugar farming families and workers across our States support more than 151,000 jobs in more than two dozen states while generating more than $23 billion in economic activity each year. We are gravely concerned about the surge in unfairly traded foreign sugar imports, which, along with higher input costs, are plunging the domestic industry into crisis and presenting an imminent threat to the industry\u2019s long-term viability,\u201d wrote the members of Congress.\n\n\u201cU.S. sugar policy is a necessary response to a global playing field where foreign countries routinely sell sugar at well below the world cost of production\u2026 In the past 10 years, 14 percent of our nation\u2019s beet sugar processing facilities and 12 percent of our domestic cane sugar mills and refineries have closed, including the complete loss of sugarbeet farming in California (2025) and sugarcane farming in Hawaii (2016) and Texas (2024). Absent action to protect the domestic sugar industry from discriminatory foreign trade practices, these continued revenue losses will only mount, threatening the future existence of domestic U.S. sugar production. We strongly urge you to investigate these unfair trading practices that disadvantage our domestic sugar industry and take decisive action as appropriate.\u201d", 1, "2026-06-13T06:32:19Z", "2026-06-13T06:34:27Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fedorchak.house.gov/media/press-releases/fedorchak-hoeven-slotkin-carter-lead-call-section-301-investigation-unfair"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8041600231081247, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}