Washington ag delegation to D.C. addressed Mexican trucking issue

Washington Ag Today An issue that was addressed at many of the appointments in Washington D.C. last week by Governor Gregoire’s ag mission was the Mexican trucking issue. Elimination of a pilot Mexican trucking program in the U.S. allowed Mexico to impose 20 percent tariffs on some U.S. imports like French fries, pears, and cherries.

Governor Gregoire says the issue still seems to be “who’s on first?”

Gregoire: “Is it Congress that should be working on this an solving it or should it be the administration?”

But Gregoire says she has no doubt that cabinet secretaries understand the impact of this dispute with Mexico.

Gregoire: “They understand what a 20% tariff means, but they further understand the potential that if we lose now we may lose for the long haul. That we are not losing for just one season. That it may be for a long time and then again it may be forever. So I don‘t have any doubt in my mind that they understand the gravity of the problem and the timing of the problem as well.”

Washington State Potato Commission Executive Director Chris Voigt, who was on the governor’s mission to Washington D. C., says Washington exports about 40 million dollars worth of potato products to Mexico annually.

Voigt: “We have been on Capitol Hill working this issue in the past but having the governor along and the entire state of Washington got us access to those key cabinet positions. So we are hoping for resolution on this. I think it is going to be a matter of timing when to introduce the legislation. And we will go from there. We are optimistic but we are following this very closely.”

I’m Bob Hoff and that’s Washington Ag Today on the Northwest Ag Information Network.

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