Latest news with #Spielmann
CNBC
22-07-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Greenhouse growers take aim at Trump's 'tomato tax' on Mexican imports
When the Trump administration announced a new 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes, Florida-based growers celebrated the win. They'd pushed for years to end a trade agreement that they said failed to keep Mexican imports from flooding the market. But greenhouse growers, importers and industry groups in Arizona and Texas are blasting the Commerce Department's withdrawal from the agreement, warning that it could raise prices and cost U.S. jobs. "There has to be a better way of doing business than just putting duties on products that the consumers want," said NatureSweet CEO Rodolfo Spielmann, who grows greenhouse tomatoes in Arizona and Mexico. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, he's waged a sweeping trade war to promote domestic industries and specific political demands. Earlier this month, he threatened to impose a 30% tariff on Mexico for allegedly failing to dismantle drug cartels. But the tomato levy is distinct. It stems from the termination of a nearly 30-year-old trade agreement specific to Mexican tomatoes. Growers like Spielmann hoped — and still hope — the agreement would be renegotiated instead. Because NatureSweet works on both sides of the border, he says it's impossible to scale back Mexican operations without also hurting domestic ones. The footprint of NatureSweet's Arizona greenhouse could hold 30 football fields, Spielmann said. The company, whose tomatoes are primarily sold in grocery stores, planned to more than double its capacity in the United States, in response to growing demand and a desire to innovate. But it has now put that expansion on hold, he said, because of the change in trade policy. He says the new tariff will support Florida growers, who mostly plant in open fields, at the expense of everyone else, including consumers, who've grown accustomed to enjoying a wide variety of tomatoes grown in greenhouses year-round. "We understand that there's a need to protect the Florida tomato production, but also we should be protecting the total U.S. tomato production," Spielmann said. Moving more operations to the U.S. would present hurdles for NatureSweet. The climate in Mexico is better for growing tomatoes, he explained. And the partial-year H-2A visa program for farmworkers doesn't account for greenhouse operations that need employees for a full year. It would "take years and a lot of money" to transfer more greenhouses to the U.S., said Tom Stenzel, executive director of the Controlled Environment Agriculture Alliance, whose members include greenhouse tomato growers with operations in the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Economists have warned that the new tomato tax could mean price increases of up to 10%, harming both consumers and restaurants that rely on tomatoes. Industry groups that represent companies that distribute Mexican tomatoes in the U.S. say their workers are now at risk. "There is such a wide selection of tomatoes, and there's so many different factors that go into bringing all those different varieties to the store shelf," said Dante Galeazzi, CEO and president of the Texas International Produce Association, which represents warehouses handling imported produce. The White House did not respond to questions but referred NBC News to a statement Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick gave last week when he announced the end of the trade agreement. "Mexico remains one of our greatest allies, but for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices," he said. Critics say the trade agreement's safeguards didn't prevent Mexican tomatoes from being "dumped," or being sold at unfairly low prices, in the U.S., despite being renegotiated several times in an effort to help level the playing field. "People say, 'you're protectionist,'' said Tony DiMare, president of DiMare Fresh, which has operations in Florida and California. "You're darn right I am." The U.S. needs "boundaries and guidelines and trade laws to keep these countries in check," he said. The number of family farms has dwindled in recent years, according to Robert Guenther, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange, which spearheaded the original trade case against Mexican imports. Mexican tomatoes now comprise roughly 70% of the tomatoes consumed in the U.S. "We're talking about 100 years of domestic tomato supply that we don't want to see go away and this will help," he said. The Commerce Department's decision to impose anti-dumping duties is in line with tariffs imposed on other products, he said. Political leaders and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle in Texas and Arizona aren't convinced that the tomato tax will ultimately benefit the U.S. A statement from Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, cited a Texas A&M study estimating that nearly 50,000 jobs in Arizona and Texas are tied to the import of tomatoes, jobs she said are now at risk. "Donald Trump's reckless trade war is raising prices, threatening our economic growth and killing jobs," she said. In June, four Republican lawmakers in Arizona and Texas warned against abandoning the agreement in a letter to Lutnick. "This agreement has safeguarded American jobs, stabilized markets, and driven agricultural innovation without burdensome government interference," they wrote. The Republican-dominated Legislature in Texas passed a resolution opposing the Trump administration's withdrawal from the agreement. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a staunch Trump ally, signed it last month.
NBC News
22-07-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Greenhouse growers take aim at Trump's 'tomato tax' on Mexican imports
When the Trump administration announced a new 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes, Florida-based growers celebrated the win. They'd pushed for years to end a trade agreement that they said failed to keep Mexican imports from flooding the market. But greenhouse growers, importers and industry groups in Arizona and Texas are blasting the Commerce Department's withdrawal from the agreement, warning that it could raise prices and cost U.S. jobs. 'There has to be a better way of doing business than just putting duties on products that the consumers want,' said NatureSweet CEO Rodolfo Spielmann, who grows greenhouse tomatoes in Arizona and Mexico. Since President Donald Trump took office in January, he's waged a sweeping trade war to promote domestic industries and specific political demands. Earlier this month, he threatened to impose a 30% tariff on Mexico for allegedly failing to dismantle drug cartels. But the tomato levy is distinct. It stems from the termination of a nearly 30-year-old trade agreement specific to Mexican tomatoes. Growers like Spielmann hoped — and still hope — the agreement would be renegotiated instead. Because NatureSweet works on both sides of the border, he says it's impossible to scale back Mexican operations without also hurting domestic ones. The footprint of NatureSweet's Arizona greenhouse could hold 30 football fields, Spielmann said. The company, whose tomatoes are primarily sold in grocery stores, planned to more than double its capacity in the United States, in response to growing demand and a desire to innovate. But it has now put that expansion on hold, he said, because of the change in trade policy.
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
A Tomato Fight With Mexico Is Set to Boost US Prices Nearly 10%
(Bloomberg) -- Consumers may soon be paying more for fresh tomatoes as a decades-long deal with Mexico expires in less than a week, absent a last-minute deal or extension. Are Tourists Ruining Europe? How Locals Are Pushing Back Denver City Hall Takes a Page From NASA Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways? Philadelphia Trash Piles Up as Garbage Workers' Strike Drags On US tomato importer NatureSweet Ltd. told its customers last week that it would have to raise prices nearly 10% if the agreement ends, Chief Executive Officer Rodolfo Spielmann said in an interview Tuesday. 'There's no scenario where I can absorb those tariffs,' Spielmann said. 'The margins are not high enough.' That could drive up costs across the country, given NatureSweet's position as the largest distributor of tomatoes in the US. Its best-sellers, including Cherubs grape tomatoes, can be found at stores including Walmart Inc., Kroger Co. and Albertsons Cos. The US Commerce Department announced in April it was terminating a long-running agreement with the country's southern neighbor over tomato prices on July 14, which will unleash a 17% levy on the fruits imported from Mexico. With less than a week left before the mid-July deadline, a deal is unlikely to come together, although several groups are pressing for an extension to buy more time for negotiations, according to public documents. The Commerce Department, Walmart, Kroger and Albertsons didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. The end of the agreement would deal a blow to US companies that grow tomatoes in Mexico and import them into the US, where they dominate the market. Around 72% of US fresh tomatoes were imported in 2024, and about 90% of those came from Mexico, according to the US Agriculture Department. Welcomed Move Some US tomato growers have cheered the ending of the accord, though many agricultural economists don't expect them to be able to make up for an expected slowdown in tomatoes coming from Mexico. The US Agriculture Department estimated in June that Mexico's tomato exports would decrease 5% this year in response to the new levies. 'It's possible that the price of tomatoes goes up for the short term,' US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters last week. In the longer term, 'ensuring that our international partners are being fair and following the rules and ensuring that they're meeting their obligations is paramount,' she said. Tomato growers in Florida and some other states have urged the administration to end the agreement with Mexico, arguing imports from the US's southern neighbor are priced unfairly low. The original agreement, signed in 1996 and periodically renegotiated, suspended an investigation into Mexico's prices and struck a deal: Mexican growers agreed to set a minimum price for their tomatoes and undergo additional inspections. 'It hasn't worked,' said Robert Guenther, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange, which represents many growers in Florida and a handful of other states. Over the last 30 years, 'what you've seen is a consistent reduction in the market share of US tomatoes,' he said. US growers supplied around 80% of the US market when the agreement was first signed and have since seen that dwindle to roughly 30%, Guenther said. Growing Sweet Spot But agricultural economists said Mexico has captured a bigger share of the US market because its temperate climate and network of greenhouses are well situated to growing tomatoes, particularly the cherry, grape and heirloom varieties that have become increasingly popular. Low labor costs also help keep prices down. 'It's not due to a concerted effort by Mexican growers to take the market share and push Florida out. They're simply providing better products to the marketplace,' said Matt Mandel, vice president of Arizona's SunFed Produce, which imports 95% of its products from Mexico. Mandel said SunFed will also have to adjust prices on its tomatoes if the agreement ends this month. 'It's going to raise prices, period, full stop,' he said. 'We're working on very, very small margins and there's absolutely no way we can absorb 17%.' Guenther said he doesn't expect a dramatic reduction in imports or a surge in prices. US growers in Florida and elsewhere have room to expand their production, he said. Lost Jobs Reducing tomato imports is likely to have additional repercussions by eliminating jobs tied to that pipeline of produce, said Andrew Muhammad, an agricultural policy professor at the University of Tennessee's Institute of Agriculture. 'You're going to get some lost economic activity in addition to the lost imports,' he said. 'The services associated with importing also pays Americans.' Importing and marketing fresh tomatoes from Mexico supports roughly 47,000 full and part-time jobs in the US, according to an April analysis from Texas A&M University. Elected officials from Arizona and Texas, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott, have urged the administration to leave the agreement in place, while lawmakers from Florida have applauded efforts to end it. Will Trade War Make South India the Next Manufacturing Hub? 'Telecom Is the New Tequila': Behind the Celebrity Wireless Boom SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too For Brazil's Criminals, Coffee Beans Are the Target Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. 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