Ambassador Tai discusses current U.S. trade policy and strategy with representatives of the California agricultural industry. Photo credit: USTR
Ambassador Tai, Director Myers and Secretary Ross toured the historic, 60-acre Blue Diamond , Sacramento facility with Blue Diamond executives Alicia Rockwell, Chief Government Affairs Officer, Mel Machado, Vice President of Member Relations, and Raj Joshi, Chief Growth Officer. The group walked through almond receiving, storage, processing and shipping areas, seeing firsthand how almonds are prepared for export to the industry’s largest markets — India, China and the Middle East — where Ambassador Tai has worked to lower tariffs and other barriers that hinder the export of American commodities, including California agriculture like almonds and walnuts, to those markets. These regional negotiations are a good example of the USTR’s current international strategy:
rather than negotiate sweeping, large-scale free trade agreements with groups of countries (think of NAFTA, a free trade agreement between the United States, Mexico and Canada) that reduce tariffs and other direct barriers to free trade, the USTR is working to negotiate with individual countries to align policies like labor standards, climate provisions and other non-tariff barriers to trade. While tasting the latest innovations in snack almonds and almondmilk at Blue Diamond , Sacramento’s Almond Innovation Center, the visiting group learned more about the ongoing almond harvest, Blue Diamond ’s accelerated sustainability practices, and the challenging conditions surrounding the 2022 crop and high grower production costs.
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SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER 2023
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