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Source: USDA, 4/5/22 United States Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Mexico
Secretary of Agriculture and Rural Development Victor Villalobos met this week
to continue cooperation on shared priorities including open trade,
science-based policy making, and sustainable and climate-smart agricultural
production.Following their meetings, Vilsack and Villalobos announced that
the United States and Mexico have concluded all necessary plant health
protocols and agreed to a final visit by Mexican officials in April that
finalizes expanded access to the entire Mexican market no later than May 15 for
all U.S. table stock and chipping potatoes according to the agreed workplan. During their engagement, the Secretaries reaffirmed their shared
commitment to:
- promoting
food security by facilitating trade, inclusive rural development and
enabling sustainable productivity growth;
- continuing
to support rural development by expanding market opportunities for
agricultural producers and their products;
- helping
small producers and new farmers, particularly with respect to developing
local and regional markets
- tackling
climate change by giving farmers access to tools and technologies that
enable them to increase production while minimizing their environmental
impacts; and
- enhancing
plant and animal health cooperation to meet emerging threats and to
promote food security.
Two-way trade in food and agricultural products between the United
States and Mexico reached a record $63 billion in 2021 and the strong
relationship between the North American neighbors has been further enhanced by
the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
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