A bipartisan group of 68 U.S. senators and representatives has urged President Donald Trump to press Japan to open its market to U.S. fresh table-stock potatoes during talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, whose White House visit is scheduled for March 19, 2026.

In a March 11 letter led by Senate Finance Committee chairman Mike Crapo and ranking member Ron Wyden, the lawmakers said access to Japan could generate an estimated USD 150 million a year in new U.S. potato exports. They argued that such an outcome would make Japan the largest export market for U.S. fresh potatoes outside North America.

The letter states that the United States first requested market access for fresh potatoes in Japan more than 30 years ago and that the issue was elevated to a top priority in U.S.-Japan plant health negotiations in September 2019. However, the lawmakers said progress since then has been limited despite efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

“Technical discussions have not made meaningful progress,” the legislators wrote. “We urge you to prioritize this issue in your discussions with the prime minister and find a lasting solution for U.S. potato growers.”

The signatories also argued that there is “no valid phytosanitary justification” for the continued delays and said Japan continues to exclude U.S. potatoes from its fresh market “with no scientific basis.”

According to the lawmakers, the issue comes at a difficult time for U.S. growers, with low market prices and rising input costs putting pressure on the sector. They said opening the Japanese market would make a meaningful difference for producers across several U.S. potato-growing states.

“U.S. potato growers produce the best potatoes in the world. International trade and foreign export markets are critical to the U.S. potato industry,” the lawmakers said in a related statement, adding that Japan represents “a massive market with significant export opportunities for American potato growers.”

About 20% of American-grown potatoes are exported worldwide, according to the letter. Lawmakers also noted that U.S. fresh potatoes are already exported across the Indo-Pacific region, including to South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand.