48 APRIL-MAY 2025 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL Marc Gilkey (fourth from left) and J.J. Hurley (fifth from right) stand with Vietnamese officials in an orchard at the height of bloom on the outskirts of Hanoi celebrating the exchange of Texas Ruby Red grapefruit for Vietnamese pomelos in 2023. From the early 2000s, APHIS and other agencies worked tirelessly to open and maintain market access for U.S. agricultural products in Vietnam. A big part of this success was ensuring safe trade practices, which involves meticulous sanitary and phytosanitary measures to protect both countries’ agricultural sectors from invasive plant pests and animal diseases. Today, as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of U.S.-Vietnam diplomatic relations and mark 50 years since the end of the war, Vietnam ranks as the United States’ 10th-largest export market for agricultural and food products (up from 24th just 15 years ago), while the United States is the largest agricultural export market for Vietnam. In addition to fruit, the U.S. exports cotton, soybeans, tree nuts, and poultry to Vietnam—all of which APHIS contributed significantly to facilitating and maintaining. New Milestones On Sept. 10, 2023, the U.S.-Vietnam relationship reached a new milestone when it was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. This historic move marked a new phase of bilateral cooperation aimed at peace, cooperation, and sustainable development. Not long after, the symbolic exchange of Vietnamese pomelo and U.S. grapefruit took place. At the height of bloom in a pomelo orchard on the outskirts of Hanoi, APHIS International Services and Vietnam’s Plant Protection Department symbolically solidified the relationship between the United States and Vietnam by trading U.S. (Texas) grapefruit with a local farmer and Vietnamese officials in exchange for a Vietnamese pomelo. It was “citrus diplomacy” in action. For those who don’t know, APHIS is the smallest Foreign Service agency, but our work is at the heart of most agricultural trade. The APHIS Foreign Service, called “International Services,” is the platform by which APHIS delivers all technical talent to support international agricultural diplomacy. We actively back and cultivate the capacity of communities, institutions, and governments to manage threats to agriculture in a way that is sustainable, effective, and protects plants, animals, and the finely interwoven global agricultural community. International Services encompasses a range of technical experts in entomology, plant pathology, animal health, aquaculture, and risk management, whose expertise is leveraged across APHIS. We develop strategies to anticipate and address disease outbreaks, and we serve as a technical body assisting in the systematic identification, mitigation, and management of agricultural pests and diseases to reduce global crop and livestock losses. Through collaboration with foreign counterparts at The author provides opening remarks at the California Fresh Fruit Association (CFFA) “Love California” event celebrating market access for peaches and nectarines in August 2024. COURTESY OF MARC GILKEY KLEVER FRUIT
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