Last week, U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai released the 2024 National Trade Estimate Report on Foreign Trade Barriers. The report highlighted significant trade barriers hindering U.S. agricultural exports, including Japan’s ongoing ban on U.S. fresh potatoes.
“U.S. potato exports to Japan are currently limited to chipping potatoes,” writes USTR in its report. “In March 2020, the United States submitted an official request to Japan for market access for table-stock potatoes. In September 2023, Japan provided the final pest list for table-stock potatoes. The United States continues to engage with Japan on this market access request.”
Ted Tschirky, NPC Vice President of Trade Affairs, commented on the report, saying, “The National Potato Council is extremely disappointed in this language as it does not depict the continued delays Japan is undertaking to delay the completion of the pest risk assessment and finalize market access for U.S. potatoes.”
According to the report, additional countries with U.S. potato trade barriers include Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, India, Panama, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and the UK.