Tag: tomato suspension agreement

This is not Florida vs. Mexico. This is legal process supported by the vast majority of American tomato growers.

It is not exactly news to the produce industry that Mexican exports of tomatoes have been on the increase. Export value has risen from $1.66 billion in 2014 to $2.48 billion in 2022.

The recent request by the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE) asking the Department of Commerce to withdraw from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement jeopardizes the availability of the variety of tomatoes that US consumers expect at prices they can afford and would harm U.S. businesses. 

Today, the Florida Tomato Exchange filed a request with the U.S. Department of Commerce to terminate the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement because it has failed to stop unfairly traded Mexican tomatoes from destroying the U.S. tomato industry.

San Antonio-based NatureSweet says specialty tomatoes do not belong in the same market category as “commodity” tomatoes, and the company is seeking exceptions from the 2019 suspension agreement on tomatoes from Mexico.

You don’t have to know too much about international trade to suspect that dumping is a bad thing.

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas and the Texas International Produce Association applaud the efforts of Congressman Vicente Gonzalez in leading a bipartisan letter addressed to the Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, regarding a proposal to reinterpret parts of the 2019 Suspension Agreement on Fresh Tomatoes from Mexico (TSA).

Despite erroneous claims by the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, the Florida Tomato Exchange hasn’t proposed any changes to the Tomato Suspension Agreement.

The new requirement for quality inspections under the Tomato Suspension Agreement was a focal point for the report. These new quality inspections, that go above and beyond national treatment of fresh tomatoes, are one way the flow of fresh produce is delayed or restricted.

The International Trade Administration’s Enforcement and Compliance group is hosting two webinars on the suspension agreement on fresh tomatoes from Mexico in March.