Starting July 14, the United States will apply a 20.91% tariff on most tomatoes imported from Mexico. According to a statement from the U.S. International Trade Administration, this decision follows the unilateral termination of a bilateral agreement signed in 2019.
The U.S. Department of Commerce argues that the existing agreement has failed to protect U.S. producers from unfair Mexican import prices. Numerous comments from U.S. producers calling for an end to the agreement influenced the decision. "This action will allow U.S. tomato growers to compete fairly in the marketplace," the statement said.
The 2019 agreement, signed during Donald Trump's first presidential term, sought to avoid an anti-dumping investigation and the imposition of tariffs. According to the World Trade Organization (WTO), dumping refers to the practice of selling a product in a country at a lower price than in the exporting country's market, which constitutes a "situation of international price discrimination."
At that time, the U.S. Department of Commerce said the agreement eliminated "the detrimental effects of unfairly priced Mexican tomatoes", preventing "price suppression and undervaluation." In addition, it allowed U.S. authorities to audit up to 80 Mexican tomato producers and U.S. sellers per quarter.
To date, the Mexican government has not issued any public statements regarding this announcement. CNN has contacted the Presidency and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development for comments but has not received a response yet.
The tariffs announced are different from those imposed by the Trump administration on Mexico, related to irregular immigration and fentanyl trafficking, which have not taken effect yet. They are also independent of reciprocal tariffs, from which many Mexican products are exempt under the USMCA trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
In 2023, Mexico exported approximately $2.87 billion of red tomatoes, mainly to the United States, which purchased about $2.85 billion, according to recent data from the Mexican government.
Source: cnnespanol.cnn.com