The Trump administration announced it will resume collecting 17.5 percent tariffs on all chilled and fresh Mexican tomatoes after the Tomato Suspension Agreement expired on Tuesday. The Commerce Department had signaled in February – giving the required 60 day notice – that the U.S. would withdraw from the six-year old agreement and resume an anti-dumping investigation into Mexican tomatoes. Florida growers and their lawmakers have long complained that Mexican growers are subsidizing their tomato crops and that the suspension agreement contained too many loopholes that allow Mexican growers to circumvent the minimum price. “The Department of Commerce remains committed to ensuring that American domestic industries are protected from unfair trading practices,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. “We remain optimistic that there will be a negotiated solution.” A consortium of the largest Mexican growers issued a statement, expressing their disappointment and suggesting that the “duties that will be passed on to US consumers and totally disrupt the fresh produce market.” The consortium said it plans to “pursue our right to show that Mexican tomato imports are not responsible for any problems facing Florida. Those problems have been self-imposed.”
For more news go to: www.Agri-Pulse.com
