Alabama farmer sees new interest within days of Trump's tomato tariff — and says former trade deal ‘never worked' for US

Yahoo

2 days ago

With President Trump's latest tariff announcement, the price of tomatoes could soon be going up in the U.S.
On July 14, the Trump Administration announced a 17% tariff on tomatoes imported from Mexico, ending a decades-long trade deal that kept the price of importing tomatoes down in the U.S.
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'Mexico remains one of our greatest allies, but for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes,' said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick in the press release. 'That ends today.'
And while some Americans may not be in support of additional tariffs levied against America's international trade partners, several U.S. farmers stand in strong support of Trump's latest trade move.
'Been two days now and we've actually had a lot more calls'
For decades, U.S. and Mexican tomato operations worked under a trade agreement that allowed for relatively easy importation of Mexican tomatoes into U.S. markets. The deal was meant to protect American tomato farmers, but many believe the old trade agreement didn't do enough.
'There's been loopholes that the Mexican tomato producers have taken advantage of and continue to price dump, or lower the prices below the cost of production here in the United States and in Alabama," Blake Thaxton, executive director of the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, told WVTM 13 News.
Chad Smith of Smith Tomato Farms in St. Clair County, Alabama echoed Thaxton's concerns with the old trade deal with Mexico.
'If they send the tomatoes over and it's supposed to be a set price and they need to move tomatoes, well, they may just give a load of bell peppers for free for them to take the tomatoes. So, it's never really worked,' said Smith.
American tomato farmers had long felt as if they were hard-pressed to compete with the imports from Mexico, but several of them now see better times ahead with Trump's latest tariff news.
'It's only been two days now and we've actually had a lot more calls from people who have an interest in doing business," said Smith. 'And the price hasn't even changed.'
As for Thaxton, he believes the potential of a sustainable future for U.S. tomato farmers is important.
'Food security is national security, and we need to be able to produce our own food here in the United States,' said Thaxton.
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How the new tariff may affect your wallet
While some American farmers are hopeful that the tomato tariff will impact their bottom line in a positive way, there's a concern that the changing policy will lead to higher prices at the grocery store. After all, the costs of producing tomatoes are higher in the U.S., thanks in part to American farms paying their workers up to 10 times more per hour than farm workers in Mexico.
Thaxton believes the rising tomato costs won't be too dramatic, but other experts appear to be more concerned. In fact, some predict the new tomato tariff could push prices up by 10%.
Since American farms face significantly higher production costs than Mexican growers — this includes wages, land, regulation, insurance, property taxes and equipment — these costs may be passed along to American consumers at the grocery store.
At this moment, it's tough to predict the exact outcome that the tariff will have on the U.S. tomato market. While it looks like the tariff could help American farmers, it's unclear whether or not it will help American wallets.
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