Ever since the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, Florida’s tomato industry has been under assault by cheap, government-subsidized tomatoes from Mexico. Alas, Trump’s renegotiated trade treaty will offer no relief, growers say.
The new trade deal, dubbed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, makes no changes to how fruits and vegetables are imported from Mexico, where labor is far cheaper than in the United States and the industry is heavily subsidized by the government in the form of vast amounts of capital and growing technology, such as state-of-the-art greenhouses and irrigation systems.
"The agreement is basically silent when it comes to doing anything to provide relief to growers who are impacted by unfair trade products coming in from Mexico," Mike Stuart, president of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, told UPI.
The agreement has been hailed as a boon for some areas of American agriculture. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said the deal helps farmers "secure greater access to the Mexican and Canadian markets."
But in Florida, where produce like tomatoes rely on a domestic market, the agreement didn't include any protections from cheaper produce coming from Mexico.