Potato Groups, Lawmakers Applaud Mexican Decision to Reverse Import Ban
Potato industry groups and lawmakers applauded a ruling this week by Mexico’s Supreme Court that reversed a ban on potato imports from the U.S. (see 2102220022), clearing the way for more potato trade between the two countries. The ban stemmed from a 2017 lower court ruling siding with a Mexican potato cartel that argued the government had no authority to allow the imports.
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The National Potato Council said the ruling marked the end of a “decade-long” legal fight for Mexican market access. “It represents a major step forward in the U.S. potato industry’s efforts to provide consumers throughout Mexico access to fresh, healthy U.S.-grown potatoes,” said Jared Balcom, the council’s vice president of trade affairs. Jaren Raybould, chair of Potatoes USA, said U.S. potato exporters are hoping Mexico moves “quickly” to reimplement the two sides’ market access agreement. “Mexican consumers and the [potato] chip manufacturers in Mexico have waited way too long to access fresh U.S. potatoes,” he said.
Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, Republicans of Idaho, said the ruling was overdue. “It’s long past time our farmers are granted real market access,” Risch said. Crapo said the ruling was a “positive step forward,” but he won’t “consider the matter finished until Idaho’s farmers are able to sell high-quality potatoes to every family in Mexico” under the USMCA. Lawmakers from Maine, Oregon and Washington also applauded the move and said they expect it also will benefit potato exporters in their states.