Trump's presidential inauguration has shaken up the global agriculture industry. His several executive orders focused on tariff increases and fossil fuel production expansion, and his prioritization of health is at the forefront of the conversation among industry experts in and involved with the United States fruit and vegetable sector. 

Three major pillars in the field, International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) President and CEO Cathy Burns, GroentenFruit Huis Managing Director Richard Schouten, and Freshfel Europe Generate Delegate Philippe Binard all joined Fruit Logistica's International Media Briefing to discuss the impact and consequences of any upcoming political measures announced by future U.S. President Donald Trump on the global fruit and vegetable industry through both a European and American lens. 

Cathy Burns, who attended Trump's inauguration festivities, opened by saying that U.S. agriculture has its eye on two main things: deregulation and health.

"We believe that we will see some deregulation happening that will be favorable for our growers and hopefully the business community at large," she said. As for health, she added that there's a significant focus on increasing Americans' consumption of fruits and vegetables, the "make America healthier again" campaign.

Burns said it's still too early to provide an overall analysis however, she believes " the administration cares very much about the prosperity of growers and anyone across that supply chain." 

As for tariffs, she clarified that "trade agreements are vital for sustaining producers around the world but need to make sense for all sides of the equation, and I think that's the due diligence that's happening right now." 

She made sure to also stress the bipartisan nature of agriculture right now in the United States, and that the country needs farm bills, farm labor reform, and market access to be reformed, "this Congress has a lot at stake and a lot on their plate based on everyone I've spoken to and they're ready to get to work." 

Both Binard and Schouten voiced their concerns about the President's choices, especially his decision to raise tariffs on both Mexico and Canada and withdraw the country from the Paris Climate Agreement.

Both worried that there's a disconnect in objectives between the United States and Europe when focusing on sustainability, a major issue for growers around the world, and that the tariffs will disturb the United States' market access, deregulate prices, and disrupt trade relationships. 

"I already heard that the Mexican people are looking at new markets and this will influence the price of products like avocados," Schouten said. "It's important that we global suppliers of fruits and vegetables cooperate and create our own standards instead of waiting until politicians create them, because they're always changing their plans." 

When asked about how will IFPA manage to focus on sustainability with a government that seems to be walking away from it, Burns said that instead of supporting a particular position or trying to remove a barrier, "we need to make sure that the seeds we are planting are foundational for the industry." 

She added that the best opportunity for sustainability "is to eat more fruits and vegetables, we are the most sustainable product on the planet." 

She said that market access is essential and trade flows are changing, "I can't stress enough that the strong great businesses are doing some scenario planning." 

Binard's response about the future highlighted the U.S. shortcomings. "There will certainly be disturbances on trace and there are a lot of problems to come," he said. "When I look at the United States, there are already a lot of missed opportunities, the country remains a closed market where we have to negotiate case by case our entry, there are a number of cases of apples and pears, which have been pending resolution for almost ten years, without any progress, and I think that doesn't happen when we talk about access to Europe." 

He also directed our attention to Trump's first term, saying that the United States might have some issues with trade again, just like they did before. "We have seen this during the first Trump administration, a decrease in export to Canada, Mexico, China, and India, because of the sanctions that were put on these countries." 

To conclude his statement he added that the United States should also think about the question of labor, since the produce industry is a labor-intensive sector. To this, Burns said that she's aware that labor is a major issue, and the organization has been working with policymakers for years to "ensure that we have labor programs and, and reforms that enable growers to hire skilled workers legally and safely, and we will continue to advocate for that." 

She concluded the panel by saying the IFPA has already been briefing and working with Trump's team and, as the confirmations come to fruition, they will continue to work with confirmed officials and staff to " ensure they have the right resources and education and information to make the right decisions."

" It's about having a legal, safe workforce in this country, that is one of the top priorities of the International Fresh Produce Association in addition to driving consumption and sustainability, supply chain efficiencies, technology, I could go on and on," she said.