Government in talks with US authorities to try to head off imposition of a 20.91 per cent tariff from July
Mexican tomato growers are calling for the Trump administration to cancel a 20.91 per cent tariff on US imports of their products, due to take effect on 14 July.
The move comes as Florida producers argue that the current import system does not protect them from alleged “dumping” of Mexican tomatoes. If introduced, the measure would reverse the agreement reached in 2019 during Trump’s first administration, which temporarily eliminated tariffs on this product.
Julio Berdegué, Mexico’s secretary of agriculture and rural development, said decades-old claims that Mexico sells its tomatoes below cost were “baseless”.
He warned that the tariffs would hit American consumers, as 90 per cent of the tomatoes imported by the US come from Mexico, and six out of every 10 tomatoes consumed in that country are of Mexican origin. “They will simply pay 21 per cent more for their tomatoes,” he said.
Berdegué also noted that Mexico does not have a large alternative market for these products, as 99.8 per cent of its tomato exports go to the US. In 2023, Mexican exported US$2.562bn of tomatoes to its northern neighbour according to figures from the official website Data México.
The tariff will immediately be felt in states like Baja California and those located in the Bajío region, which harvest in July. Sinaloa, the country’s main tomato producing state, and Sonora don’t harvest in July because of it is too hot.
The Baja California Agricultural Council said the import tax would put at least half a million jobs at risk. The state’s sole federal delegate, Alejandro Ruíz Uribe, said support is already being provided to Baja California’s agricultural sector and that plans are underway to boost corn and bean production.
Ricardo Ramonet Rascón, president of the Association of Agricultural Organisations of Northern Sonora (AOANS), said the tariff would be extremely negative for tomato producers because this tax is directed at tomatoes; there are no threats to the other crops we produce in Sonora,” he indicated.
“Protected vegetable producers, that is, those engaged in indoor agriculture, are the ones discussing this issue with the Secretary of Commerce because they specialise in tomato production, but we hope this tariff won’t be imposed, at least not on that scale,” he stated.
The Mexican government has expressed optimism about reaching an agreement with the US. It pointed out that imposing a tariff on tomatoes would only increase costs for US consumers.
