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.