NPC News
NPC Urges Continued Pressure on Mexico U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai pushes for fresh potato dispute resolution U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai met virtually, May 3, with the National Potato Council (NPC) to discuss the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) ahead of her upcoming trilateral meeting with representatives from Canada and Mexico to review the implementation of the Agreement. NPC Chief Executive Officer Kam Quarles and Bryant Christie’s Matt Lantz spoke with her about the industry’s trade priorities, including the next steps in a continued effort to open the full Mexican market for fresh U.S. potatoes. Bryant Christie Inc. regularly assists in market access and foreign government affairs. After the meeting, Quarles commented that, “It was a great opportunity to thank Ambassador Tai and the USTR [U.S. Trade Representative] staff for all their work in pushing the Mexico fresh potato
dispute toward a final resolution. We share the intention to reinstate full U.S. market access in the next few months, to the benefit of both countries.” However, the work in Mexico is far from complete. The U.S. potato industry, along with partners at USTR and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are in close contact with the Mexican regulators who need to reinstate access that U.S. growers lost when lawsuits were filed to stop the regulations permitting fresh potato access in Mexico from taking palace. “The fortunate part of this is we’re not creating a new market access agreement: we’re simply reinstating what was already there,” Quarles says. “That gives us a lot of optimism that this can happen rapidly, but only with constant pressure from the U.S. government.”
Above: In the Zoom meeting screen grab image, Matt Lantz (left) of Bryant Christie Inc., which assists in market access and foreign government affairs, and National Potato Council Chief Executive Officer Kam Quarles (center) meet with U.S. Trade Rep. Katherine Tai (right) to discuss the U.S.Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The Zoom conference was prior to Rep. Tai’s trilateral meeting with representatives from Canada and Mexico to review implementation of USMCA, giving Lantz and Quarles a chance to speak with her about the industry’s trade priorities.
NPC Summer Meeting Moves Virtual Due to ongoing travel challenges, NPC announces that its 2021 Summer Meeting will be held as a 100 percent virtual event, July 27-30. 48 BC�T June
While NPC is disappointed that council members are not able to host an in-person event, the limited availability of facilities and travel-
related challenges led the Executive Committee to make the decision to go virtual. Details on the schedule will be announced soon.
