French Fry Producers Burned By Nafta Ruling Creates Financial Burden For Exporters

This spring the North American Free Trade Agreement is weighing in with a heavy tax on U.S.-produced frozen french fries exported to Mexico.

French fry exports to Mexico surpassed the annual safeguard quota of 3,701 metric tons. So a 20 percent tariff on the food was set in place for the rest of the year, slowing down U.S. exports, lowering sale prices to local farmers and perplexing farmers and processors alike.

The tariff is designed to protect an importing country’s own french fry industry. The only problem is Mexico doesn’t have a french fry industry.

“When the NAFTA agreement was made a few years ago, there was actually a french fry processing facility in Mexico,” said Pat Boss, spokesman for the Washington Potato Commission.

But that business soon after shut down because Mexico couldn’t grow the type of potatoes that the plant could process into fries. “At that point the tariffs should have been removed, but they were not because they were negotiated into NAFTA,” Boss said.

In addition to affecting potato sales in the United States, the tariff makes it more difficult for fast food vendors to do business.

“It’s just one of those things that comes up when you talk to the food chains down in Mexico,” Boss said. He said the chains could be growing at a rate of 20 to 30 percent a year, but “the fry tariff is restricting growth in that market. If the tariff were taken off, we feel the demand would probably double down there for fries.

Now the industry and Washington Gov. Gary Locke are trying to negotiate an agreement to remove the quota tariff on frozen french fries.

Mexico is the region’s second biggest frozen french fry export market for the United States. Washington is the largest french fry producer in the United States, producing much of the crop in the central part of the state. Idaho is the second largest producer.

Red raspberries may have to meet new standards.

In a week, raspberry growers and processors will meet to talk with Washington state Department of Agriculture officials about major changes in the quality requirements for the fruit sold for processing.

Under the proposed rules, the fruit would have to be washed, sorted and graded at a licensed food processing facility.

The issue carries some controversy for people in the industry, said Anne Seeger, executive director of the Washington Raspberry Commission.

“But perhaps they don’t understand it completely,” she said.

In recent years, the industry has encountered quality problems with the cleaning and sorting of some of the raspberries. “There have been some questionable practices as well as a concern for food safety,” Seeger said. “That’s why were doing this.”

Washington leads the nation in raspberry production, with nearly 35,000 tons harvested on 9,500 acres last year.

Industry members will argue the issue at a hearing in Bellingham on May 10.