American consumers can anticipate that prices on fresh tomatoes from Mexico will go up when the United States exits the Tomato Suspension Agreement between the two countries, says the Border Trade Alliance, an organization of public and private stakeholders that promotes cross-border trade.
"The Tomato Suspension Agreement has provided a reliable structure for trade in fresh tomatoes between the U.S. and Mexico that the trade community has strongly supported," Border Trade Alliance President Ms. Britton Mullen said. "More than 400 businesses have written to the Department of Commerce urging maintenance of the Tomato Suspension Agreement because there are too many jobs, and there is too much economic activity connected to the tomato trade to sacrifice them for certain regional agricultural interests' attempts to tilt the rules of trade in their favor. Withdrawing from the Tomato Suspension Agreement will not only put upward pressure on prices, but it is also inconsistent with USMCA during a time of tremendous upheaval in the North American trade marketplace."
The Border Trade Alliance has consistently advocated for a healthy bilateral trade relationship with Mexico, which is essential to the continued growth of the American economy, while also ensuring consumer access to affordable fresh produce, especially in cold-weather months. Tomato imports alone are responsible for more than 30,000 U.S. jobs and support a supply chain that generates nearly $3 billion in U.S. GDP.
The U.S. is Mexico's top agricultural trade partner, exporting $18 billion worth of products, which represents about 70 percent of Mexico's agri-food imports. The agriculture sector is critical to the overall two-way goods and services trade between our two countries that supports an estimated five million U.S. jobs.
For more information
Border Trade Alliance
www.thebta.org