Fresh Mexican tomatoes singled out for 17% tariff

The supporters said that the import tax will help rebuild the shrinking American tomato industry and ensure that the products that are consumed in the United States are also grown there. Mexico currently provides about 70 % of the tomato market in the United States, an increase of 30 % two decades ago, according to the Florida Stock Exchange.

Robert Gwenhir, Executive Vice President of the Trade Group, said that “a tremendous victory for American tomato farmers and American agriculture.”

But opponents said that the import tax will make tomatoes more expensive for consumers. Mexican greenhouse specializes in voic tomatoes, while Florida tomatoes are usually grown in fields and pickering green.

“As an industry, we feel sad because American consumers will have to pay the tomato tax, or the duty, to a select decrease in the tomatoes they prefer, such as tomatoes over vine, grape tomatoes, Rumas, cocktail tomatoes and other specialized varieties,” said Lance Junjeir, head of the Modern Products Association, which is the berise of Meximan.

Tim Richards, a professor at the Morrison College of Agriculture at Arizona State University, said the US retail tomatoes are likely to rise by about 8.5 % by 17 %.

Jacob Jensen, a commercial policy analyst at the American Labor Forum, a right -wing policy institute, said the areas with higher dependence on Mexican tomatoes can see an increase in prices approximately 10 %, as it will be difficult to replace this supply, while other parts of the United States may see an increase in prices more than 6 %.

This duty stems from an American complaint for a long time about tomato exports in Mexico and it is 30 % separate from the basic tariffs on the products made in Mexico and the European Union announced by President Donald Trump on Saturday.

In late April, the Ministry of Commerce said that it withdraws from a deal it reached for the first time with Mexico in 2019 to settle the allegations that the country exports tomatoes to the United States at artificially low, a practice known as dumping.

As part of the deal, Mexico had to sell its tomatoes at the lowest price and commit to other rules. Since then, the agreement has been subject to periodic reviews, but the two sides have always reached an agreement to avoid duties.

Upon announcing its withdrawal from the Tomato suspension agreement, the Ministry of Commerce said it “flooded with comments” from American tomato farmers who want to protect better than Mexican goods.

“Mexico is still one of our greatest allies, but for a long time our farmers have been crushed through unfair commercial practices that undermine prices on products such as tomatoes. This ends today,” commercial Minister Howard Lootnick said in a statement. “This change is in line with President Trump’s commercial policies and its approach with Mexico.”

But others, including the American Chamber of Commerce and the National Restaurant Association, called on the Ministry of Commerce to reach an agreement with Mexico. The governor of Texas Greg Abbott, a Republican, and the ruler of Arizona Katie Hobbes, a democratic, urged the Ministry of Trade to leave the current tomato agreement in place.

In a letter sent to Lutnick last week, the American Chamber of Commerce and 30 other business groups said that American companies are employing 50,000 workers and generating $ 8.3 billion of economic benefits that move tomatoes from Mexico to societies throughout the country.

“We are concerned that withdrawing from the agreement – while the business community is already moving in a state of commercial uncertainty – can lead to retaliatory measures by our commercial partners against goods and other crops that can create more hardship for American companies and consumers,” said the message.