Excruciatingly difficult political issues will be at the forefront when Mexican President Felipe Calderon comes to Washington this week, notably the murderous drug wars and the continued flow of illegal aliens from Mexico entering the United States. We hope the near-intractable does not become an excuse for inaction on the achievable — a resolution of the cross-border trucking issue, which prompted Mexico to impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports of manufactured goods and agricultural products.

The New York Times reduces the dispute to a single reference in its preview, “Mexican Leader to Visit U.S. as Woes Mount“:

Though the two governments are at odds on a variety of issues, including the immigration crackdown and a dispute over allowing Mexican trucks to enter the United States, relations between Mr. Calderón and Mr. Obama are close, say aides on both sides. The state dinner that Mr. Obama will hold for Mr. Calderón on Wednesday is evidence, since such events have been rare in the Obama presidency.

Being compadres is nice, but it’s no substitute for action. As The Capital Press, a West Coast agriculture weekly and website editorialized in April, “Obama must back talk with action.” The editorial reports startling news that warrants wider circulation:

Last month ConAgra shut down its french fry plant in Prosser, Wash. It said the 20 percent tariff Mexico slapped on frozen fries has greatly reduced demand for the plant’s output. The Washington Potato Commission said the tariff has cost the potato industry $15 million in sales. California grape shippers say they’ve lost 70 percent of their Mexican business in the 12 months since the tariffs have been in place. Growers of impacted goods across the West say they have either lost sales entirely or have been forced to discount their price to account for the tariff.

Although the administration promised swift action to rectify the impasse, 13 months have passed without any tangible results or any indication of what that action might be. Growers and processors in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho are literally paying the freight to keep the Teamsters happy.

As the NAM’s Doug Goudie pointed out in his post on Monday, about two-thirds of the $2.4 billion in U.S. exports being affected by Mexico’s retaliatory are manufactured goods.

We’ve posted previously on the companies that have made contributions to Haiti relief efforts in the wake of the terrible Jan. 12 earthquake. The outpouring of aid continues.

• ConAgra: “ConAgra Foods, whose corporate headquarters is in Omaha, Nebraska, is joining in to help the cause and has just donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross for its International Relief Fund, to assist the Red Cross response in Haiti.”
• Cargill: “MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Cargill is responding to the devastating earthquake in Haiti with an initial corporate donation of $50,000 that will be directed to long-time Cargill partners CARE and the World Food Programme, which have significant operations in the country.  In the Twin Cities, Cargill volunteers at its headquarters facility will be packaging 20,000 meals on January 18 for the nonprofit Kids Against Hunger, which will be sent directly to people in Haiti; Cargill volunteers will be packaging an additional 30,000 meals over the next month.”
• General Mills Foundation: “The General Mills Foundation today announced a commitment of $250,000 to support disaster relief and rebuilding efforts in Haiti. The $250,000 commitment includes a $100,000 donation to the American Red Cross International Response Fund and a $150,000 donation to CARE International for long-term rebuilding efforts.”
• United HealthGroup: “MINNEAPOLIS (Jan. 15, 2010) UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which helps victims of countless crises around the world, including the recent earthquake in Haiti. In addition, the company will match employee contributions to charitable partner Global Impact, dollar for dollar up to $50,000.”
• Medtronic: “MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 15, 2010 – Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) announced today that it has pledged $150,000 through the Medtronic Foundation to support earthquake relief efforts in Haiti. The Foundation will match employee donations up to $50,000, with matching funds directed to Partners in Health. An additional $100,000 grant will be directed to the rebuilding of community health clinics in Haiti.”
• Ecolab: “Ecolab said it will contribute $500,000 of cleaning and sanitation products to help meet needs in Haiti, including hand sanitizers and surface sanitizers. In addition to the product donation, the Ecolab Foundation has offered a global matching gift program, through which it will match all Ecolab associate contributions to the Red Cross up to $1,000 per associate up to a total of $25,000.”
• Pentair: “MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 15, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Pentair, Inc., a global water solutions provider, in coordination with its Foundation, is immediately donating $200,000 to fund portable water treatment systems and related supplies to Haiti. Working with the company’s charitable partner, Water Missions International (WMI), Pentair is able to provide 10 Living Water Treatment Systems (LWTS) and five chlorinators. These water systems can provide potable drinking water to approximately 100,000 total people daily.”
• Mosaic Corp. (potash and phosphate): “Mosaic announced it is contributing $500,000 for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti.  Mosaic’s $500,000 contribution will provide both immediate and long-term assistance, supporting emergency medical services, triage and mobile communications.”
  Our accounting of these charitable efforts favors larger companies, which have the means and materiel to make large-scale contributions. We know there are also thousands of smaller manufacturers and their employees who are also concerned and caring in their donations.

  Earlier posts:

  •  Manufacturers and the Outpouring of Aid for Haiti
  •  Manufacturers Donate to Haiti Earthquake Relief

  Also, thanks to MinnPost.com for spotting several of these announcements from Twin Cities-based companies.