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U.S. Potato industry confident Trump administration can open Japan market

The CEO of the National Potato Council says he’s optimistic the Trump administration can help get fresh potato market access in Japan.

Kam Quarles tells Brownfield “Even though it has taken 30 years for us to get to this point, solving the Japan fresh potato access issue for U.S. growers is simple. It is no longer a technical one, it is simply: can the president sit down and and push past this Japanese protectionism?”

The U.S. has been negotiating with Japan for decades to ease phytosanitary and other trade concerns.

President Trump was in Japan this week to talk about the country’s commitment to buying U.S. ag products, and Quarles says…

“Somebody’s gonna win and somebody’s gonna lose. We hope it’s United States winning in this equation here over the next couple of days.”

Julie Callahan, the nominee for the chief ag negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, also told the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday she is committed to working to get fresh potato market access in Japan.

Quarles previously told Brownfield opening market access could create up to $200 million in annual demand for U.S. fresh potatoes.