Both US senators and two-thirds of the state’s Congressional delegation are lobbying the Biden administration to protect Florida’s farmers from ‘unfairly-priced and high-volume imports’ from Mexico.
A two-page letter, signed by senators Rubio and Scott as well as 12 Republicans and 6 Democrats in Florida’s Congressional delegation, was sent on October 6th. It demands the Biden administration require the US Trade Promotion Authority to ‘implement safeguard mechanisms for combating trade practices that harm producers of seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetables, such as those jointly employed by the Mexican government and Mexico’s agriculture industries. For decades, despite clear evidence of the systematic use of malicious trade practices, the Federal government has failed to take meaningful steps to hold Mexico accountable for its economic warfare’.
Without protections, ‘fatal harm’ is inevitable for Florida’s $12 billion winter crop industry while the state’s $137 billion ‘agricultural base’ will be further degraded, they write in urging ‘immediate, comprehensive action to address ongoing threats to American food security’.
Thecentersquare.com reports that the call comes after the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services released an 84-page report in late August, documenting how ‘unfair trade practices’ allowed US markets to be deluged by Mexican imports, annually costing Florida’s seasonal crop farmers up to 10-20% in lost sales.
