In a letter sent to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the National Potato Council (NPC) and several state organizations requested that the federal government increase tariffs on frozen fries imported from the European Union (EU). Currently, there is an 8 percent tariff on EU frozen fries; the industry is asking for an additional 100 percent tariff.
“In recent years, imports of EU frozen fries have increased substantially,” the NPC letter said, citing a 500 percent increase in volume and more than 600 percent increase in value of EU frozen fry imports over the past five years.
The letter goes on to say that the trend is driven by lower cost imports from Belgium and the Netherlands, and the price disparity is impacted by factors including EU agriculture policies that give EU potato growers advantages that U.S. farmers do not have. According to the NPC, the situation has been compounded in recent months by COVID-19, which has led to a notable decrease in potato prices in major production centers, particularly the EU. This has further contributed to an influx of EU frozen fries and placed more pressure on the U.S. potato industry.
