The Trump administration on Monday said it was imposing a 17 percent tariff on more than $1 billion worth of tomatoes from Mexico after unilaterally ending a bilateral agreement that had managed tomato trade between the two countries since 2019.
“Mexico remains one of our greatest allies, but for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes. That ends today,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement. “This rule change is in line with President [Donald] Trump’s trade policies and approach with Mexico.”
Members of the Florida Tomato Exchange, a growers group, began pushing in 2023 for the end of the agreement, saying it had not lived up to their hopes. They were rebuffed by the Biden administration but finally found success with the Trump administration.
However, the 17 percent anti-dumping duty that Lutnick announced Monday was lower than the 21 percent rate that the Commerce Department said in April it would impose, when it gave 90 days’ notice that it was ending the 2019 deal.
