USA: Blueberry growers want better access to Japan

Published 2023년 5월 11일

Tridge summary

A group of bipartisan lawmakers in the U.S. is urging the U.S. Trade Representative to remove trade barriers for U.S. blueberry growers in Japan. They argue that tariffs on frozen blueberries have handicapped the U.S. in competition since the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership was implemented in 2018. The lawmakers are seeking a duty-free amendment to the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement to equalize the access for frozen blueberries, similar to fresh and dried blueberries. Japan is the third-largest international market for U.S. frozen blueberries, but the U.S. market share has dropped by six percent over the last four years while Canada and the European Union have maintained and increased their shares, respectively.

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Original content

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is pressing the U.S. Trade Representative to eliminate trade barriers with Japan for blueberry growers. The lawmakers say tariffs on frozen blueberries have put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage since the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership was enacted in 2018. Michigan Blueberry Advisory Committee President Chad Reenders tells Brownfield reduced demand for West Coast frozen blueberries backfills available storage space and market access for Michigan growers. “When the West Coast cannot export to Japan and other countries like that, they end up filling our domestic freezers,” he explains. “With Michigan being one of the last states to farm blueberries in the United States, our farmers sometimes struggle with freezer space. Unfortunately, when the freezers are full, the market is very low and that can even bounce into the fresh market as well.” In a letter to USTR, lawmakers are asking for a duty-free amendment to the U.S. ...

Source: Brownfield Ag