Mar 10, 2025Tariffs, farm bill hot topics on Capitol Hill
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with comment from the March 7 “Eye on Potatoes” podcast.
The National Potato Council passed three resolutions to guide its policy efforts during its Washington Summit, while its CEO recently met with congressional leaders to urge passage of a farm bill.
During the summit, held Feb. 24-28, the NPC board passed resolutions calling for resolutions of tariff, Prince Edward Island potato wart and farm bill concerns.
Noting that U.S. potato industry exports 20% of all domestically grown potatoes each year, creating $4.75 billion in economic impact and nearly 34,000 jobs, NPC encouraged the Trump administration to “avoid the long-term potential for tariff retaliation that may cost U.S. growers market share to foreign competition and also avoid disruption to trade in essential inputs that allow U.S. growers to raise a competitive crop.”
NPC CEO Kam Quarles said on a March 7 Eye on Potatoes podcast titled “The Moving Tariff Target” that while the threat of tariffs have helped bring countries to the negotiating table in the past and advanced trade agreements such as United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), permanent sanctions could hurt U.S. potato producers.
“If you’re placing tariffs on imported goods, you’re placing them on inputs — like fertilizer, like crop protection tools — essential items that are necessary for American growers to grow a crop for the coming year. Harming your own producers by elevating those outcomes is not a great outcome.”
On March 6, Trump postponed tariffs on most goods from Mexico after a conversation with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, then issued temporary exemptions for a wide range of goods from both Mexico and Canada.
The exemptions will apply to goods that are compliant with the (USMCA). The pause will last until April 2, the same day Trump is poised to enact reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations that have import taxes on U.S. goods.
A White House official told CNBC that about 50% of Mexican imports and 38% of Canadian imports comply with the agreement, negotiated during Trump’s first term. That includes fresh and processed potatoes, according to the podcast.
NPC also reiterated concerns that PEI potato exports pose a significant risk of exposing the U.S. to the disease and called on the administration to “reconsider the threat to the U.S. from potato wart transmitted via PEI exports and take immediate steps specifically identified in public comments the U.S. industry submitted both to Canadian and U.S. authorities” to lessen the risk.
Regarding the farm bill, NPC urged a rapid passage of new legislation that “reflects the recommendations of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance and enhances the competitiveness of the U.S. potato industry.”
Quarles co-chairs the SCFBA along with Cathy Burns, CEO of the International Fresh Produce Association; Mike Joyner, president of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association; and Dave Puglia, president and CEO of Western Growers.
The co-chairs met with Glenn (GT) Thompson, chair of the House Committee on Agriculture, along with ranking members of the House and Senate ag committees, in early March.
“During the meetings, we conveyed the urgent need for a new farm bill to confront the volatility growers are facing,” Quarles said. “From trade insecurity to ag labor issues and environmental impediments, our producers need a new bill that addresses their competitive challenges.”
The group urged the committee leaders to include the alliance’s priorities, including:
- Enhancing the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, which funds beneficial research in the areas of soil health, potato breeding, nematode control and data generation for science-based pesticide evaluation.
- Increasing funding for the trade title of the farm bill, including funding for the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops program, which NPC has utilized to open the Mexican market to U.S. fresh potatoes.
- Strengthening resources to prevent or eradicate pest and disease threats, including programs that analyze the pathways that phytosanitary threats may take to enter the U.S.
