Mexican tomato growers decry protectionist action
CAADES Sinaloa, A.C., Consejo Agrícola de Baja California, A.C., Asociación Mexicana de Horticultura Protegida, A.C. (AMHPAC), Union Agricola Regional de Sonora Productores de Hortalizas Frutas y Legumbres, Confederacion Nacional de Productores de Hortalizas, and Mexico’s Sistema Producto Tomate issue this combined statement in response to this recent action:
On June 22, 2012, the Florida Tomato Exchange asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to terminate the bilateral agreement with the Mexican tomato growers so that they could immediately file a petition for a new investigation. "We are disappointed," said Rosario Beltran, Chairman of CAADES’ Commission for Research and Defense of Horticultural products (CIDH). "This agreement has worked well for 16 years, bringing stability to the market and settling one of the largest bilateral trade disputes between the United States and Mexico. If these Florida growers are successful in reigniting this trade war all over again, it will have an enormous negative impact on industries on both sides of the border and prices will increase
significantly for U.S. consumers."
The original agreement, between the U.S. Department of Commerce and Mexican tomato growers, went into effect on November 1, 1996, and suspended the antidumping investigation that was ongoing at that time. The agreement established a minimum price, set by the Department of Commerce, under which the Mexican growers agreed not to sell in the U.S. market. Since that time, the Agreement has been renegotiated and renewed in 2002 and 2008.
On all three occasions, the Department of Commerce made determinations that the agreement completely eliminates any injurious effect of Mexican tomato imports, prevents the price suppression or undercutting in the U.S. market and, most importantly, is in the public interest. Nothing has changed. The record of the proceeding reflects no complaints or allegations that the agreement has been violated. “The agreement is working for everyone—U.S. growers, Mexican
growers and U.S. consumers, who otherwise would have been the victims of arbitrary price increases and suffered at the supermarket check-out line,” said Manuel Cazares, Chairman of Mexico’s Sistema Producto Tomate.
During the last 16 years, growers from Mexico have worked closely with the Department of Commerce to improve the efficacy of the agreement. Specifically, Mexican growers and Department of Commerce have collaborated to increase signatories, increase enforcement, increase the reference price, and educate growers, distributors and buyers. Moreover, the agreement has built-in mechanisms to address exactly the type of concerns Florida expresses in the recent press release. "If Florida or other U.S. growers had these concerns, why didn’t they
avail themselves of any of these opportunities?" asks Mario Robles, President of CIDH; "Why are they instead pursuing termination? One reason – they just want to use political pressure to start a new antidumping investigation and demand protection from fair competition. Just as it did 16 years ago, Florida is trying to hijack the proceeding in the middle of a U.S. Presidential election, starting a trade war with Mexico and demanding a tax on U.S. consumers in the process."
"The economic pressures cited by the Florida growers are their own doing – instead of innovating and evolving, they rely on outdated technology and grow tomato varieties no longer popular with U.S. consumers," said Manuel Valladolid of Consejo Agricola de Baja California.
In contrast, in Mexico, as well as other parts of the world, the tomato industry has invested in technology, has evolved into diverse growing areas, and has cultivated a greater selection of tomato varieties that are distinguished as more flavorful and appealing to consumers. "We have followed the call of the industry and consumers to supply a better tomato," explained Eric Viramontes, President of AMHPAC. "Florida chose not to do so. Instead, they continue to seek government protection to compensate for their decisions not to innovate and diversify. This protection will be in the form of an added tax at the grocery store for all U.S. tomato consumers," he notes.
The Mexican growers prefer to avoid this and continue the collaborative approach that has been successful for 16 years. As a legal matter, they have filed their formal opposition to this action on July 5, 2012, arguing that the agreement is in the best interests of growers, consumers and the U.S. Government and that the U.S. growers have not met the statutory burden for termination.
For more information:
Mario Robles
Tel: +62 667 716-6499