By Jacob Villagomez, Director of Governmental Affairs
Last week, CCM President/CEO, Casey Creamer and I visited Capitol Hill to kick off the New Year. We had the opportunity to connect with numerous California congressional representatives and Senate offices. Key discussion topics included specialty crop economic support, a review of trade agreements, the status of reciprocal tariffs, and citrus appropriations priorities for 2026.
In addition to the Hill visits, we had the opportunity to meet with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to provide crop condition updates, as well as thank them for providing solicitations pursuant to the $30 million worth of purchases via Section 32 for fresh oranges, grapefruit, mandarins and tangerines.
We also had the opportunity to connect with the USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs (MRP) Undersecretary, Dudley Hoskins. Undersecretary Hoskins was appointed in late 2025 and now oversees areas like market access, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and food safety promotion. The Undersecretary was joined by various APHIS staff members who provided citrus program updates to CCM, market access updates from trading partners, and MRP staff priorities for the new year.
On the trade front, the United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) Chief Agricultural Trade Negotiator Julie Callahan and deputies provided CCM with updates on multiple trading partners and the status of reciprocal actions pertinent to the citrus industry. CCM was briefed by the Ambassador on items related to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USCMA), Argentina, South Africa, China and discussed the removal of fresh oranges from recent exemptions to reciprocal tariffs announced by the Administration.
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