At the end of May, former NPC President Dan Moss joined President Trump at the White House for an ag trade meeting where new support was announced for producers impacted by retaliatory tariffs in China.
“It was an honor to be included in this event at the White House,” Moss said. “The success of the potato industry heavily relies on trade and foreign market access. We appreciate the Trump Administration’s long-term desire to enhance U.S. agriculture’s global competitiveness and to mitigate the short-term impact of these negotiations.”
Recently, the U.S. potato industry was pleased to see the agreement lift the Section 232 tariffs. On Monday, Mexico responded by removing their 20% retaliatory tariff on fries, and we are pleased to be shipping again duty-free to our third largest fry export market. With this issue resolved, the U.S. potato industry strongly urges Congress to pass the US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement immediately.
China is the sixth largest export market for U.S. potato products with $95 million in annual imports. NPC is hopeful in expanding the market substantially once an agreement is reached between the two countries.
“Should the U.S. potato industry gain workable access for both fresh and chip potatoes, China would vault into one of our largest export markets,” said Kam Quarles, NPC CEO.
As negotiations between the United States and China continue, the US potato industry appreciates this additional support offered to agriculture. The mitigation package includes direct payments, export promotion and surplus commodity purchases. The trade promotion support is expected to be used by the U.S. potato industry to expand our exports to emerging markets.