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US had announced plans to withdraw from long-term tomato

trade

agreement

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Mexican producers say their produce cannot be replaced,

seeking

solutions,

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Experts and opponents warn of rising prices due to duties

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce

Department said on Monday it will impose duties of 17.09% on

fresh tomatoes from top supplier Mexico, after withdrawing from

a 2019 deal suspending an antidumping duty investigation.

The U.S. and Mexico first struck an agreement in 1996 to

regulate Mexican tomato exports and allow U.S. producers to

compete fairly. The agreement was last renewed six years ago to

avert an antidumping investigation and end a tariff dispute on

the trade, which is worth more than $3 billion a year, according

to official figures.

Mexico said in April it was confident that it could renew

the tomato agreement after Washington said it intended to

withdraw from the deal.

Antidumping duties are calculated to measure the percentage

by which Mexican tomatoes have been sold in the United States at

"unfair prices," the Commerce Department said in its statement.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Monday that

"for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade

practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes."

Mexico's agriculture ministry and economy ministry did not

immediately respond to a request for comment.

A group of five Mexican agriculture associations, including

from Baja California and Sinaloa states, said they were

committed to working with the Mexican government to find

solutions.

Of the 6.5 billion pounds of fresh tomatoes consumed in the

United States, about 4.3 billion are supplied by Mexico, the

associations said.

"In the short or medium term, there are no countries in the

world that can replace Mexican tomatoes in a market we have

built through innovation and effort over the past 120 years,"

they said in a statement.

HIGHER PRICES EXPECTED

In the build-up to Monday's expected announcement, some

experts, as well as Trump's opponents from the Democratic Party,

had warned that prices of products will rise as a result of the

duties.

"Salsa will be pricier, shelves emptier, and groceries more

expensive," U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia said on X on

Friday.

President Donald Trump on Saturday had separately threatened

to impose a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico starting on August

1, after weeks of negotiations with the major U.S. trading

partner failed to reach a comprehensive trade deal.

U.S. growers have long sought protections from Mexican

competitors who can often grow the fruits year round.

The 2019 agreement was supposed to set a floor on pricing

and provided for U.S. border inspections of crops but U.S.

growers have long argued that the arrangement had too many

loopholes that allowed for dumping of Mexican fruits.

The Florida Tomato Exchange, which represents growers in the

major tomato-producing state, applauded the action to end what

it called a "failed" tomato trade agreement.

"This decision will protect hardworking American tomato

growers from unfair Mexican trading practices and send a strong

signal that the Trump Administration is committed to ensuring

fair markets for American agriculture," Robert Guenther, the

group's executive vice president, said in a statement.