The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) has announced its intent to withdraw from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement. This termination is set to become effective on July 14th, 2025, reinstating 20.91% tariffs on all imported fresh and chilled tomatoes from Mexico.
The Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA) was reached in 1996 by the DOC and signatory producers/exporters of fresh tomatoes grown in Mexico to stop the unfair trade practices of Mexican tomato exporters. In 2019, an investigation conducted by DOC concluded that Mexican tomatoes are being dumped in the U.S. market at a rate with margins as high as 30.48 percent. In response to this, the 2019 TSA was established to close the loopholes of the previous suspension agreements in exchange for suspension of anti-dumping duties against Mexican exporters. However, despite this legally binding agreement, over the last 29 years, Mexican tomato imports have increased nearly 400 percent. To put this into perspective, the domestically produced fresh tomato market share in the U.S. has dropped from 80 percent to about 30 percent, with this number continuing to decline.
Florida Farm Bureau Federation is proud to advocate on behalf of the U.S. fresh tomato industry to ensure a fair and enforceable free trade agreement is reached with our trading partners.
To read Congresswoman Kat Cammack’s press release, including a statement from President Jeb Smith, please click here.
To read the Florida Tomato Committee’s press release, please click here.
Please contact Maddie Campbell with any further questions or concerns.
