The Agriculture Coalition for CAFTA-DR, of which USApple is a member, today issued a letter to every Senator and Representative urging congressional consideration and passage of the CAFTA-DR. Fifty-two organizations endorsed this letter.

The CAFTA-DR agreement would immediately eliminate the current trade barriers in Central America, and thereby offer U.S. apples duty free access to the countries included in the agreement — Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The passage of CAFTA-DR "will expand U.S. agricultural exports and put U.S. agriculture on an equal footing with its competitors in these markets," the letter noted. "The undersigned organizations urge you to show your support for American agriculture by acting quickly to approve legislation that will implement these trade agreements and allow U.S. producers to compete on a level playing field in the region."

"With approximately 25% of the U.S. apple crop going to export, it is vital for the economic health of the U.S. apple industry that we continue to expand and maintain fair trade in markets across the globe," said USApple President and CEO Nancy Foster. "The U.S. apple industry currently faces unfair trade barriers when moving fruit into Central America, including import duties ranging from 12-25%. USApple supports the CAFTA-DR agreement to give the apple industry fair opportunity to compete against foreign producers who have enjoyed preferential market access into this nearby market of more than 45 million consumers."

There are already indications that "free trade" agreements can be powerful tools in facilitating trade in Central America. In 2002, the U.S. and Chile both had a similar percentage of the Costa Rica apple market, about 41% of the volume imported. However, the implementation of the Chile-Central America Free Trade agreement between several Central American nations drastically changed the market dynamics. For example, by 2003, after the first year of the agreement's implementation, Chile's share of the Costa Rica market was more than 60% of the total volume imported (see figure).

"CAFTA-DR will let fair competition drive the marketplace, instead of allowing foreign government trade barriers to disadvantage U.S. apple exports for the benefit of our competitors, concluded Foster.

In addition to supporting the coalition letter, USApple's Foster, along with other coalition members, briefed the House Agriculture Committee staff on CAFTA-DR earlier today. A copy of the Coalition's letter to Congress is attached. The CAFTA-DR proposal is awaiting Congressional approval.

Note: The text of this release can be downloaded from the News Releases section of USApple's Media Web site, at http://www.usapple.org/media/newsreleases/index.cfm.

The U.S. Apple Association (USApple) is the national trade association representing all segments of the apple industry. Members include 40 state and regional apple associations representing the 7,500 apple growers throughout the country, as well as more than 400 individual firms involved in the apple business. USApple's mission is to provide the means for all segments of the U.S. apple industry to join in appropriate collective efforts to profitably produce and market apples and apple products.