Sen. Murray pushes for end to tariffs imposed by Mexico

The Obama administration would have until Oct. 1 to create a plan to end
tariffs by Mexico on Washington agricultural products, including frozen
potatoes, under language included by Sen. Patty Murray in a
transportation bill.

Murray’s office said Monday that the
Washington state Democrat had included language setting the deadline for
a resolution of the tariff dispute in the fiscal 2011 Transportation,
Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill. The measure now goes
to the full Senate for consideration.

“I am extremely frustrated
that the administration has not yet acted while farmers across my home
state of Washington continue to suffer under Mexico’s retaliatory
tariffs,” Murray said in a statement. “I am urging both the Obama
administration and the Mexican government to solve this issue and allow
Washington state farmers to compete on a level playing field.”

Murray and other members of Washington’s congressional delegation
have pressed the administration to reach a resolution with Mexico’s
government to allow cross-border access of Mexican trucks to the U.S.
and end retaliatory tariffs on more than 90 U.S. products.

Mexico
imposed the 20 percent tariff on agricultural and other products in
April 2009 after the end of a pilot program that allowed a limited
number of Mexican trucks access to U.S. highways.

The tariffs have
hit potato farmers particularly hard because Mexico is the No. 2
international export market for Washington frozen potatoes.

Washington
sustained an estimated $14 million decline in frozen potatoes exported
to Mexico from April to December 2009, the Washington State Potato
Commission reported. About 20,000 jobs are supported by the state’s
potato industry.

The U.S. potato industry, said the commission, has lost at least $31 million worth of export business because of the tariffs.

“It’s
refreshing to see this and its helpful language because it will hold
the administration’s feet to the fire if the bill passes,” said Matt
Harris, director of trade for the Washington State Potato Commission.

Language
included in the bill would direct Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood
and the U.S. Trade representative no later than Oct. 1 to “establish and
report on a proposal to implement a cross-border trucking program that
maintains the safety of our roads and highways, enhances the efficient
movement of commerce, and eliminates harmful and retaliatory tariffs on
agricultural products.”

-Tri-City Herald