The National Potato Council (NPC) is calling on the Biden administration to keep pushing Mexico in the dispute over their potato import actions.
While a recent Mexican Supreme Court ruling was "significant progress" in the dispute, the NPC said, "there are serious concerns about the long-term prospects for successful market access for U.S. potatoes in Mexico." NPC contends that Mexico's potato cartel CONPAPA is "exerting great political pressure" to impede competition from the U.S.
They noted Mexico's SENASICA in April changed the U.S. fresh potato import protocol without notification to the U.S. and involves additional sampling of U.S. potatoes to be sent to a lab selected and paid for by CONPAPA. "The clear goal of this unilateral change is to manufacture a reason to close the market to U.S. fresh potatoes at some point in the future," NPC said in the letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai.
Vilsack is currently scheduled to meet with Mexican Agriculture Secretary Victor Villalobos Arambula in early August where issues on GMO corn, glyphosate and the potato trade situation are expected to be key topics