OPINION:
International trade should be fair and follow the rule of law, not act as a vehicle for corner-cutting that drives American farmers out of business. The Commerce Department’s decision to terminate the U.S.-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement is a vital step toward restoring fair trade in tomatoes and enforcing the U.S. antidumping law.
For 30 years, five tomato suspension agreements have failed spectacularly at their basic mission: to prevent Mexican tomato producers from hurting American growers by illegally selling tomatoes at dumped prices into the U.S. market.
The agreements were intended to set agreed-upon minimum prices to ensure fair competition. In practice, however, they have allowed Mexican growers to take advantage of an uneven playing field. Since the mid-1990s, Mexican tomato imports have surged nearly 400%, taking over 70% of the American market. Meanwhile, the share from American farmers has dropped from 80% to 30%. Farms across states such as Florida, California, Georgia and Michigan have been devastated, and thousands of jobs have been lost. That didn’t happen because American farmers couldn’t compete. It happened because successive governments failed them and forced them into an unfair fight.
The Trump administration’s decision to terminate the suspension agreement is based on clear evidence of outrageous dumping margins — 17% to 273% below the agreed-upon minimum — from Mexican producers. The law is even clearer. The U.S. Court of International Trade affirmed Commerce’s finding of Mexican dumping, and the U.S. International Trade Commission voted unanimously that dumped imports harm American tomato farmers without trade relief.
The Mexican government and Mexican tomato growers want the Commerce Department to fold and renegotiate the agreement with the false promise, again, of providing better protection for American tomato growers. We’ve seen this play before. The agreement has been renegotiated five times. Each version was touted as a solution. Each time, the agreement failed to protect American tomato producers.
There is no credible reason to believe that a sixth agreement would yield a different outcome. Terminating the suspension agreement and imposing duties on Mexican growers, as required by U.S. law, is the only solution that will protect American farmers and put the interests of American agriculture first.
If foreign exporters are allowed to break trade laws without consequences, confidence in the trade practices on which American agriculture relies will be eroded beyond repair. If we continue to allow dumping to destroy one agricultural sector, other crops will soon follow. Unfair trade won’t stop with tomatoes, nor will the damage to rural economies, jobs or our national food security.
Equally important is the strong signal the Trump administration will send about its commitment to strengthening the resilience and quality of our domestic food supply. The ability to produce fresh tomatoes year-round isn’t a luxury; it’s a strategic advantage. Thanks to technological innovation and regional diversification, American farmers can meet consumer demand without depending entirely on imports. Although terminating the suspension agreement won’t ban tomato imports from Mexico (it will only require them to sell at legal, fair-market prices while reducing our reliance on foreign sources), maintaining domestic production capacity is vital to prevent supply disruptions, insulate consumers from price spikes and ensure that American families can access high-quality, locally grown produce.
The choice is clear. Failing to act now would set up American consumers for real instability down the road. Allowing the death of the American tomato industry will ensure that Americans have fewer choices, lower-quality products and more vulnerability to supply chain disruptions, whether from weather events, crop failures, political disputes or logistics crises. Standing up for American tomato growers today ensures a strong and resilient food system tomorrow.
The Commerce Department was right to recognize this reality. The suspension agreement has failed. American growers deserve more than broken promises and meaningless paperwork. Just like any other industry, they ought to have a government that stands for fair markets and the enforcement of U.S. laws. We have a choice: to defend the rule of law, fairness and American agriculture, or to continue down a path that rewards bad actors and destroys another American industry.
America’s tomato farmers embody the very heart of our nation’s values. They have worked harder, grown smarter, invested in technology and developed and safeguarded their laborers. They have tended the soil that makes this country great. American farmers aren’t looking for handouts; they’re too proud for that. They want their government to stand up for a system that recognizes hard work and prioritizes fairness under U.S. law.
• Robert Guenther is the executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange.
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