The Border Trade Alliance, a pro-trade advocacy organization representing public and private sector stakeholders, is applauding a bipartisan congressional coalition’s call to ensure that any so-called “seasonality” provision is not included in the ratified United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, the successor to the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The cross-border trade community is pleased with this outcome. We know that the tariffs would have harmed our economy and would not have had their intended effect of stemming the tide of Central American asylum-seekers at the U.S. southern border. We would encourage the administration now to redouble its efforts to work with leaders on Capitol Hill to ensure the passage of the USMCA and continue to cooperate with our neighbor Mexico in confronting the challenges at our shared border.
The Border Trade Alliance on Wednesday urged the United States and Mexico to continue working cooperatively and prevent any tariffs from taking place as talks at the White House continue.
The U.S. trading relationship with Mexico is essential to the country’s economic health, which is put at great peril if new tariffs are imposed on Mexican imports.
Establishing tariffs on our friends, neighbors, and trading partners is exactly the wrong policy to pursue."
We regret that the Department of Commerce has withdrawn the U.S. from the agreement that has governed U.S.-Mexico tomato trade for decades. It’s a move that hits shoppers in the wallet. As a result of this decision and the establishment of tariffs on fresh tomato imports from Mexico, U.S. consumers will face higher prices on popular tomato varieties.
If the recent border slowdown causes a one-third reduction in trade over a three-month period, it would cost the US economy $69 billion in gross product and 620,236 job-years.
Cross-border trade in agriculture has been put at needless risk by an issue that could turn a win-win situation into a trade war threatening farmers on both sides of the border.
A new study assessing the impact of the potential imposition of duties on imported fresh tomatoes from Mexico paints a bleak picture for U.S. consumers, who would be faced with dramatic price increases ranging from 40-85%.
The president of the Border Trade Alliance says a move by a small group of Florida tomato growers to end a long-standing agreement governing the importation of Mexican tomatoes would harm consumers and threaten retaliation by Mexico that would damage U.S. agricultural exports.