Trump slaps 17 percent tariff on tomatoes from Mexico

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says US farmers person been ‘crushed’ by unfair commercialized practices.

The medication of United States President Donald Trump has announced a 17 percent tariff connected caller tomatoes from Mexico, scrapping a three-decade-old statement to spare the nutrient from anti-dumping duties.

The Trump administration’s withdrawal from the statement connected Monday came arsenic the timepiece ticked down for Mexico to scope an across-the-board commercialized woody with the US by August 1 oregon look a wide tariff of 30 percent connected its goods.

“Mexico remains 1 of our top allies, but for acold excessively long, our farmers person been crushed by unfair commercialized practices that undercut pricing connected nutrient similar tomatoes,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said successful a statement.

“That ends today. This regularisation alteration is successful enactment with President Trump’s commercialized policies and attack with Mexico.”

The Commerce Department had successful April announced its volition to exit the statement successful 90 days, saying it had “failed to support U.S. herb growers from unfairly priced Mexican imports”.

Mexico supplies astir 70 percent of tomatoes successful the US, up from astir 20 percent successful 1994, according to the Florida Tomato Exchange.

The Tomato Suspension Agreement, which was archetypal signed successful 1996, enactment a clasp connected duties stemming from a US commercialized tribunal determination that recovered Mexican exporters were selling their nutrient astatine artificially debased prices.

Under the agreement, the US agreed to suspend the tariffs provided that Mexican producers did not merchantability their nutrient beneath agreed-upon “reference prices.”

The 2 sides renewed the woody connected 4 occasions, astir precocious successful 2019.

In a associated statement, Mexico’s system and agriculture ministries condemned the determination arsenic “unjust” and “against the interests not lone of Mexican producers but besides of the US industry”.

“The gains made by Mexican caller tomatoes successful the U.S. marketplace are owed to the prime of the merchandise and not to immoderate unfair practices,” the ministries said, adding that the tariffs would “only wounded American consumers’ wallets, arsenic it volition beryllium intolerable to regenerate Mexican tomatoes.”

Democrats besides criticised the measure, informing of higher prices and occupation losses.

“Donald Trump’s reckless commercialized warfare is raising prices, threatening our economical maturation and sidesplitting jobs,” Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said successful a statement.

“With his latest senseless determination to permission the Tomato Suspension Agreement, helium is threatening to termination implicit 50,000 jobs betwixt Arizona and Texas and forcing Arizonans to wage much astatine the market store, each to payment Florida farmers. Arizona businesses and families volition wage the terms for this taxation hike that is the latest measurement successful the administration’s reckless commercialized war.”