Tomato prices expected to jump with Trump duty on Mexican exports
William Savinar
MEXICO CITY (CN) — The Tomato Suspension Agreement that regulated Mexican tomato imports into the U.S. since 1996 came to an end Monday and was replaced by a 17% duty the Trump administration says is due to price dumping, or selling products far below U.S. market prices.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in her morning press conference Monday that she plans to mitigate the effect the tariff will have on Mexican tomato farmers and tomato producing states of Sinaloa, San Luis Potosí and Michoacán, which by some estimates may affect 100,000 jobs. She also noted U.S. production will not be enough to meet demand.
"On the tomato, the Secretary of Agriculture has worked very closely with the governors, with cattle producers and with tomato producers. I myself was with them during my visit to Sinaloa and Sonora. We are working hand in hand so that there are the least possible effects," said Sheinbaum.
Mexico is the world's largest tomato exporter and 70% of fresh tomatoes imported to the U.S. come from Mexico — $3.12 billion worth in 2024. The duty may require U.S. consumers to pay up to 50% more for tomatoes.
"The imminent termination of the Tomato Suspension Agreement between Mexico and the United States is not only a legal matter to impose a tariff; it is a decision that calls into question access to fresh food, price stability, and the well-being of thousands of workers on both sides of the border," the Confederation of Agricultural Associations of the State of Sinaloa said in a written statement on Sunday.
Dante Galeazzi, president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association urged the Department of Commerce to extend the agreement's review period on Saturday.
"Every grocery store in this country has tomatoes, so that is a loss for them as well, so it becomes this domino effect where many jobs begin to fall,” Galeazzi said in a press conference in McCallen, Texas on Saturday.
Not all agricultural groups were upset by the decision, however. The Florida Tomato Exchange has long been in conflict with Fresh Produce Association of the Americas — an Arizona-based organization that represents Mexican tomato growers and suppliers.
The Florida Tomato Exchange has long accused the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas of price dumping.
"Unfortunately, falsehoods are flying from the panhandle state, in an economic battle that essentially pits one U.S. region against another — the Southwestern U.S. has been importing tomatoes from Mexico for almost as long as Florida has been growing them," said Javier Badillo, chairman of the Tomato Division at the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, in a lengthy statement in response to the Florida-based association.
The U.S. Department of Commerce said in April that it would withdraw from the Tomato Suspension Agreement with the aim to address the price dumping issue.
"Antidumping and countervailing duty orders provide American businesses and workers with a mechanism to seek relief from the harmful effects of the unfair pricing of imports into the United States. Foreign companies that price their products in the U.S. market below the cost of production or below prices in their home markets are subject to antidumping duties," the department in its announcement.
In June 2023, the Florida Tomato Exchange filed a request with the Department of Commerce to terminate the Tomato Suspension Agreement.