The United States government announced that it plans to slap a nearly 21 percent tariff on most tomatoes coming from Mexico in the summer, arguing the current agreement has not “protected” U.S.-based tomato growers from “unfairly priced Mexican imports.”
The Commerce Department said on Monday that it plans to withdraw from the 2019 trade agreement with Mexico and that an “antidumping duty order” will be instituted on July 14.
“This action will allow U.S. tomato growers to compete fairly in the marketplace,” the Commerce Department said in a release on Monday.
During President Trump’s first White House term, the U.S. government struck an agreement with tomato producers from Mexico to prevent a possible 25 percent tariff on the commodity.
The 2019 deal included enforcement provisions, including an inspection mechanism to bar low-quality tomatoes from being imported and establishing prices for various types of the commodity.
In early 2019, during President Trump’s first term in the White House, the U.S. government threatened to withdraw from the existing agreement and levy duties against Mexico after complaints from growers in Florida who argued that Mexico City is performing price suppression of the crop and, therefore taking advantage of Washington.
Mexico, a major trading partner, is the U.S.’s largest importer of tomatoes, along with vegetables and fruits.
Mexico and the U.S. have been tangled in other disputes. Trump threatened earlier this year to levy additional tariffs against Mexico after the country missed the deadline to send over water to the U.S. from the Rio Grande River, stipulated by a 1944 treaty.
On Friday, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico will make an “immediate” delivery of the water to the farmers in Texas.
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