WASHINGTON.- The United States Department of Commerce said Monday that it was withdrawn from a 2019 agreement that suspended an anti-dumping investigation into fresh tomatoes from Mexico, and will impose rights of 17.09% to most shipments.
Anti -dumping rights are calculated to measure the percentage in which Mexican tomatoes have sold in the United States to “unfair prices,” said the Department of Commerce (USDA) in a statement.
President Donald Trump also threatened on Saturday with imposing a 30% tariff on imports from Mexico as of August 1, after negotiation weeks did not reach an agreement with their main commercial partner.
The Secretariats of Agriculture and Economics did not immediately respond to a request for comments from the Reuters Agency.
Mexico said in April that he was able to renew the agreement on tomato with the United States. Washington had already expressed his intention to retire from the pact.
The agreement, which regulates Mexican exports from Jitomate to the United States in an attempt to allow US producers to compete fairly, was reached for the first time in 1996 and was last renewed in 2019 to avoid an anti -dumping investigation and put an end to a tariff dispute.
“Mexico is still one of our greatest allies, but for too long our farmers have oppressed themselves for unfair commercial practices that reduce the prices of products such as tomato. This ends today,” said Trade Secretary, Howard Lutnick, according to a statement from the International Trade Administration.
“This regulation change conforms to commercial policies and the strategy of President Trump with Mexico,” he added.
The measure represents a turn in the commercial policy between the two countries and threatens to generate tensions in an industry that, only in 2024, represented more than 3.3 billion dollars in Mexican exports to the US market, according to data from the Office of the US Commercial Representative (USTT).
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Mexico seeks to avoid a commercial war
The decision has generated concern in the Mexican agricultural sector, where producers warned that new tariffs could affect employment in states such as Sinaloa, Baja California and Sonora, main exporters of Jitomate towards the US.
The Mexican government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, has reiterated its willingness to resume negotiations to reach a new agreement that provides certainty to both markets.
“We trust that the technical and political dialogue continues to avoid effects greater to the agri -food chain,” said the dependency in a brief positioning.
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Immediate impact
The cancellation of the reactive agreement an anti -dumping investigation suspended in 2019, and automatically imposes the compensatory quota for Mexican exports of fresh tomato, according to the Department of Commerce. Some specific categories could face even greater rates, depending on the classification and exporter.
Experts warn that this measure could impact not only Mexican producers, but also in US consumers, who could face increases in retail prices.
With Reuters information
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