A TALE OF TWO TRADE REGIONS By Tracey Chow, Director, Federal Government Affairs
For President Donald Trump’s second administration, international trade realignment is again one of his primary crusades. Driven by his inherent view that the country has long been taken advantage of by others, he has made the goal to “rebuild the U.S. industrial base, rebalance trade relationships, enforce reciprocity… and use America’s market power to secure better terms with trading partners.” For the fresh produce sector, the prospects for real trade gains or losses aren’t taken lightly. As we approach the third year of this trade agenda in action, let’s compare the regional market landscapes of North America and Southeast Asia. The former obviously encompasses Canada and Mexico, the top two export markets for fresh produce collectively (fruits, vegetables and tree nuts). For the latter I highlight Vietnam and Thailand, as I had the great opportunity to travel to both countries earlier this year as part of a specialty crop technical trade mission. Vietnam and Thailand Southeast Asia market development is of high interest, especially as the China market dims (more on that later). Of the 11 nations that comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, Vietnam and Thailand respectively have the third- and fourth- largest populations and similar nominal GDP levels of roughly $500 billion. While Vietnam is still dominated by traditional and smaller outlets, last year supermarkets grew 13 percent and food e-commerce grew 29 percent. Consumers are becoming more selective of food sources and ingredients, and key sectors are getting better at accommodating high-value products, including more sophisticated retail, tourism and food processing. While Thailand’s food market is farther along and more developed in all these aspects, it is still projected to grow at an average annual rate of nearly 5 percent over the next four years. Over the past decade, U.S. fresh produce exports to both countries have increased nearly 60 percent, reaching $795.7 million in 2025. This June, a small group of industry representatives, technical experts and U.S. Department of Agriculture staff traveled overseas to meet with counterparts in the governments and private sectors. This trip was far more technical in nature than promotional and was organized and supported through the USDA Assisting Specialty Crop Exports (ASCE) Program. ASCE is a $65 million multi-year undertaking to comprehensively tackle non-tariff barriers into markets, especially missing or challenging maximum residue levels (MRL). Nearly three years in, it has arguably been one of the most effective USDA-driven efforts in some time, elevating several crop-chemistry combinations into several countries in one big swing.
We came at a time when Vietnam has been weathering public pressures to tackle corruption in government. The result has been substantial bureaucratic changes and shifting agency responsibilities, so for us there was an immediate need to understand ‘who’s on first’ now with ag import, food safety and crop protection oversight. In Thailand, there is palpable activism against pesticides domestically, including calls for the country to mirror European Union standards. As a result, the consideration of new products has stalled for years and now there could very likely be reforms to the overall registration and regulation process. Given how domestic policy changes can often impact channels for our exports, it was a timely discussion. From our on-the-ground observations and conversations in both countries, recent U.S. policies and politics fortunately haven’t tarnished the reputation of U.S. ag products being among the safest and highest- quality in the world. From the regulatory and political officials, they were generally open to explaining how their systems work and what their goals for successful ag trade are. Conversely, they asked many questions about how the U.S. manages food, including FDA’s handling of imports and EPA’s oversight of chemicals. The grocery stores we visited rivaled American ones in terms of quantity, variety, cleanliness and marketing, including displays and aisles dedicated exclusively to U.S.-origin products. Value-added products, tree nuts and premium fruits are overwhelmingly driving the demand. For vegetables not nearly as much, given how much is already grown domestically or is sourced much more closely from neighbors like China. While geography is possibly the greatest disadvantage, the confidence in U.S. foods’ safety is still the key advantage, and a couple off-hand remarks and presentations made mention of certain specific vegetable categories of interest that left me with some (perhaps naïve) optimism that a narrow opening for some U.S. vegetables could be possible in the future. There were several takeaways from our six-day venture. Both countries are emboldened to strengthen their own domestic policies and economic output. Real changes have and will continue to come for the mechanisms that manage food safety, pesticides and even packaging. At the same time, there is still a constructive attitude toward current U.S. diplomacy and a desire for U.S. products. There is also active interest in multilateral trade dealings, not just bilaterals. The participation from these countries is crucial toward another ASCE initiative: creating a regional import MRL approval process within the ASEAN region. Mexico and Canada For all the energy and interest into Southeast Asia, it and practically every other market region in the world
8 Western Grower & Shipper | www.wga.com October – December 2026
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