WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration announced on Monday a duty of about 17% on fresh tomatoes from Mexico, which account for two-thirds of the tomatoes eaten in the U.S., and the end of an export deal between the two countries.
The Commerce Department said the U.S. was withdrawing from a 2019 agreement with Mexico that suspended an antidumping duty investigation on Mexican tomatoes, whose exports to the U.S. are valued at $3 billion a year.
The move came as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to negotiate comprehensive trade agreements with virtually every trading partner after the president launched a dizzying series of tariff announcements in April.
The U.S. and Mexico first struck an agreement in 1996 to regulate Mexican tomato exports and address U.S. complaints of unfair competition. The pact was last renewed six years ago to avert an antidumping investigation and end a tariff dispute.
Mexico said in April it was confident that it could renew the tomato agreement when Washington said it intended to withdraw from the deal.
The 17.09% antidumping duty is set at the percentage by which exported Mexican tomatoes have been unfairly underpriced in the United States, it said.
“For far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
Mexico’s ministries of economy and agriculture said in a joint statement the U.S. decision was “unfair” and against the interests of Mexican producers and the U.S. industry.
The government said it would help local tomato producers seek a deal to suspend the tomato duty as well as support them in seeking new international markets.
Mexican tomato growers had offered proposals that were positive for the U.S., but were rejected for “political reasons,” the statement added.
A group of five Mexican agriculture associations, including from Baja California and Sinaloa states, said they were committed to working with the Mexican government to find solutions.
“There are no countries in the world that can replace Mexican tomatoes in a market we have built through innovation and effort over the past 120 years,” they said in a statement.
HIGHER PRICES EXPECTED
Before Monday’s announcement, some experts, as well as Trump’s opponents from the Democratic Party, warned that prices of tomato products would rise.
“Salsa will be pricier, shelves emptier, and groceries more expensive,” U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia said on X on Friday.
Trump on Saturday separately threatened a 30% tariff on Mexican imports starting August 1 after weeks of negotiations with the country failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal.
U.S. growers have long sought protections from Mexican competitors who can often grow the fruits year round.
The 2019 agreement was supposed to set a floor on pricing and provided for U.S. border inspections of crops. But U.S. growers have long argued that the arrangement had too many loopholes that allowed for dumping of Mexican fruits.
“This decision will protect hardworking American tomato growers from unfair Mexican trading practices and send a strong signal that the Trump Administration is committed to ensuring fair markets for American agriculture,” Robert Guenther, an official with the Florida Tomato Exchange, which represents growers there.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; additonal reporting by Cassandra Garrison in Mexico City; Editing by Mark Porter, Lincoln Feast and Cynthia Osterman
Mexico-grown tomatoes supply most of the U.S. market. Tomatoes are an ingredient found in everything from condiments to main courses. They are at the center of a new worry in the trade wars because of tariffs. Florida growers, however, say the tariff is necessary.
Great Job Reuters & the Team @ Texas Public Radio Source link for sharing this story.
