Mediaboss Marketing

U.S. Apple Association leaders met with top Trump administration officials in late May to press the case for reform to the H-2A program and expanding trade opportunities.

U.S. Apple vice chairman Mark Boyer, owner of Ridgetop Orchards LLC, Fishertown, Pa., was joined by U.S. Apple president and CEO Jim Bair and senior vice president Diane Kurrle at the White House meeting, according to a news release. They met with Ray Starling, President Trumps special assistant for agriculture, trade and food assistance and Richard Chalkey, associate director of the National Economic Council, according to the release.

Boyer said he was encouraged by the meeting.

We, the apple industry, represent one link in a long list of industries and the communities and families they support whose livelihood depends on labor and open trade, Boyer said in the release. The apple industry cannot sustain itself, and our business will not survive long term unless we address labor reforms and future trade implications now.

Topics raised during the meeting included the gains the apple industry has experienced with the North American Free Trade Agreement, the need for an overhaul of the H-2A visa program, and the continued importance of adhering to science-based rules in regulating trade in apples, according to the release.

Originally posted here:
Apple leaders make case for expanded trade, immigration reform - The Packer