US: Frozen body lobbies Obama to end Mexican dispute

By just-food.com | 9 April 2009

The American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) has urged the Obama administration to end a cross-border trucking dispute with Mexico, which has seen tariffs placed on a host of US exports, including frozen potato products.

The omnibus funding bill, recently signed into law by President Barack Obama, ended a US Department of Transportation pilot programme to allow Mexican trucks access to the US highways, provided they meet various safety requirements.

As a result, AFFI said that the US is in violation of its bilateral trade obligations with Mexico on international trucking.

The Mexican government responded with import duties of US$2.4bn worth of US manufactured goods and agricultural exports. Over $900m US agriculture products are impacted by the tariffs.

"The ability to export products around the world is critical to the US food industry, and Mexico is among our most important trading partners," said AFFI president and CEO Kraig Naasz.

"We need swift action from President Obama. Without quick resolution of this issue, many US frozen food companies face a competitive disadvantage due to these punitive tariffs."

Sectors: Baby food, Chilled foods, Commodities & ingredients, Fresh produce, Frozen, Meat & poultry, Seafood