A month long comment review period undertaken by the Department of Commerce recently ended for a debate that centers around whether the US should terminate a tomato trade agreement with Mexico. Now, the Commerce Department is expected to make a decision sometime in the next several months on ending the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement.
Tomatoes sold in the US from Mexico are controlled by the US Department of Commerce through the suspension agreement, which sets minimum pricing and regulates sales between growers and importers. The debate centers around whether Mexico-based growers are dumping exported tomatoes into the US at lower prices that undercut the domestic market.
Florida growers have been pushing for more restrictions on Mexican-grown tomatoes for years. Since 1996, the US and Mexico have negotiated five separate agreements regarding tomato imports. In 2019, the FTE lobbied for stricter quality control on Mexican-grown tomatoes and more enforcement of import pricing.
As part of the 2019 agreement, Mexico-based growers agreed not to sell tomatoes below a reference price, a seasonally adjusted floor price at which Mexican tomatoes can’t fall underneath and still be exported to the US. The FTE argues that the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement isn’t working and wants the Commerce Department to impose tariffs on all Mexican-grown tomatoes.
Source: freightwaves.com