(Washington,
D.C.)
Today,
U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) released the following statement after Mexico
announced that it is responding to the U.S. proposal to negotiate an
end to the Mexican tariffs by not adding any more goods or changing the
list. However, the Mexican government plans to continue levying a tariff on all
products currently on the list. Last week, Murray
called on the Mexican government to halt all tariffs now that the
Administration has released an initial proposal.
“This
response by the Mexican government is inadequate and deeply unfair to
Washington state farmers. The United States put a proposal on the table, and
Mexico should have responded by ending all punitive tariffs immediately.
“By
maintaining the tariffs on Washington state products like potatoes and apples,
Mexico is continuing to punish farmers and growers in my home state who have
absolutely nothing to do with this dispute.
“These
damaging tariffs are devastating our local agricultural industry. And now that
an initial proposal has been put forward in good faith, it is up to the Mexican
government to put an end to them.
“Mexico’s
attempt at a ‘show of goodwill’ demonstrates that they believe the U.S.
proposal has a path forward.
“So
I call on the Mexican government to truly demonstrate good will and end the
tariffs that are devastating farmers and growers in Washington state and across
the country.”
-
On
January 6, 2011, Murray praised an announcement by U.S. Secretary of
Transportation Ray LaHood that the Administration will be moving forward with a
proposal to negotiate an end to the Mexican tariffs on agricultural products in
Washington state and across the country. Murray also called on the Mexican
government to immediately end their tariffs now that a proposal has been put
forward. -
On
September
28, 2010, Murray brought Secretary LaHood to Washington state to meet with
local growers so that he could hear first-hand about the devastating
effects Mexican tariffs are having on the state’s agriculture industry. -
On
July 26, 2010, she included language in a key Senate spending bill that
calls on the administration to put forward a plan that would end retaliatory
tariffs on Washington state agricultural products by October 1, 2010. -
On
May 28, 2010, Murray sent
a letter to President Barack Obama urging him move forward with a plan to
end Mexican tariffs that have had a devastating impact on the Washington state
agricultural industry. Murray sent the letter after President Obama met with
Mexican President Felipe Calderon. During the meeting, the two presidents
discussed the tariffs Mexico has placed on U.S. products. Mexico has targeted
eighty-seven Washington state products in this dispute and hundreds of jobs
have been lost. -
Prior
to the meeting between President Obama and Mexican President Calderon, Senator
Murray sent a President a letter urging him to use the meeting as an
opportunity to work to end Mexican tariffs that have had a devastating
impact on the Washington state farmers and families. She has also spoken
with senior White House officials to reemphasize that point. -
On
May 4, 2010 Senator
Murray met with the Mexican Ambassador to the United States Arturo Sarukhan
to discuss the impact of Mexican tariffs on Washington state families, jobs,
and agriculture industry. Murray urged the Mexican government to end the
retaliatory tariffs that are harming Washington state families, and to use
Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s upcoming visit to Washington, D.C. as an
opportunity to resolve the differences. -
In
early March, at a hearing of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban
Development Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator
Murray pushed Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to move faster
on a plan to resume cross-border trucking with Mexico, urging him to
resolve the situation to save American jobs while ensuring the safety of the
public at large. - In
October 2009, Senator Murray hosted a meeting between Washington state farmers
and Deputy Secretary of Transportation John Porcari to make sure he understood
the local impact of the retaliatory tariffs. In April of that year, she
joined a bipartisan Senate letter to the Obama Administration urging the end of
these punitive tariffs.
English 
Spanish