The Blubber

The U.S. government has announced plans to impose a nearly 21% tariff on most tomatoes imported from Mexico this summer, citing concerns that the current trade agreement has failed to adequately protect American tomato growers from what it considers unfairly priced Mexican imports.

On Monday, the Commerce Department stated it intends to withdraw from the 2019 trade agreement with Mexico and will implement an “antidumping duty order” starting July 14.

“This action will allow U.S. tomato growers to compete fairly in the marketplace,” the department said in a statement.

During former President Trump’s first term, the U.S. reached an agreement with Mexican tomato producers to avoid a potential 25% tariff on the crop. That 2019 deal included enforcement mechanisms, such as an inspection system to block low-quality imports and the establishment of minimum pricing standards for different tomato varieties.

In early 2019, U.S. officials had threatened to exit the existing agreement and impose duties after growers in Florida raised concerns that Mexico was depressing prices and gaining an unfair advantage in the U.S. market.

Mexico remains a key U.S. trading partner and is the largest source of tomato imports, along with other fruits and vegetables.