Mango Diplomacy

(No, I'm not talking about a distant relative of mine in the state department.)

On Friday, Indian mangoes–renowned for their fiberless, flavorful flesh–crossed the U.S. border legally for the first time in 18 years. In early 2006, on a trip to India, President Bush announced new trade agreements and crowed: "The United States is looking forward to eating Indian mangoes."

Those negotiations have, ahem, finally borne fruit. The Hindu reports breathlessly:

A year after the mango initiative was launched by President George W Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the first consignment of Alphonso and Kesari mangoes that landed in Washington yesterday tickled the palate of top American officials, who said it represented more than just a market opening for the fruit.

An excited US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said "the Indian mangoes I enjoyed today represent more than just a market opening for one product."…

The officials said the Indian mango exports signals the resolve of both sides to forge stronger trade ties and create significant new economic opportunities for the people of the two countries.

How long before we see articles fretting about the danger of outsourcing our mango production to India? America must be mango independent! Stop the orange menace!