After years of battling what they see as unfair trade practices, Michigan’s tart cherry growers got a win last month. US president Trump revoked Turkey’s duty-free status for cherry juice, which means there is now a tariff on juice imported from Turkey.
“We were very happy that the Trump administration had signed an order revoking Turkey’s duty-free status on tart cherries,” said Ben LaCross, a second-generation cherry farmer from Cedar in Leelanau County.
In recent years, the state’s growers had trouble competing with cheap imports from other countries, especially Turkey. “That’s been a big issue for us,” LaCross said. “They are dumping cherry juice concentrate into the market at way below the cost of production in this country.”
But the president’s proclamation is more symbolic than anything else. “We’re glad that Turkey no longer can get free access,” said Michael DeRuiter, a third-generation cherry grower from Oceana County. “But the reality is that the tariff amount isn’t going to be substantial enough to impact imports.”
While it won’t stop Turkey, it sets a premise that Turkey can’t bring its cherries in for free, he said. It also shows growers that the president is on their side, LaCross said.
Source: greatlakesecho.org
