Mexico Delays U.S. Potatoes Pt 1
I’m Bob Larson. The National Potato Council joined over 20 leading food and agriculture groups in a letter to Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, expressing a growing concern over our troublesome trade relationship with Mexico.
NPC CEO Kam Quarles says this is a long standing battle with the powers that be in Mexico …
QUARLES … “The reason that you have a trade dispute that lasts for over two decades is self-evident on its face. You’ve got powerful domestic interests in Mexico that do not want to compete with the United States. It is politics.”
Of course, Mexican potato growers, Quarles says support this protectionism …
QUARLES … “In potatoes, we have and extremely high-quality product that actually would sell in Mexico at likely a lower cost than their domestically produced potatoes. Mexican potato producers know that and they don’t want to compete against the U.S. product. And so, they’re using every mechanism they can to keep us out for as long as they can.”
Quarles says domestic growers even sued their own government …
QUARLES … “That is a huge question that the Mexican Supreme Court is going to have to decide. If the Supreme Court decides indeed the Mexican government lacks that authority, then every food and ag import that comes into Mexico right now is subject to challenges.”
Tune in tomorrow for more on the fight for U.S. Potato access to Mexico.
