The tariffs follow a breakdown of a 22-year-old agreement that had attempted to maintain the peace between American and Mexican tomato growers. The study found that American consumers will pay the lion’s share of the tariff impact because the demand for fresh tomatoes is relatively steady. Mexican tomato imports to the United States skyrocketed 125 percent, from 1.6 billion pounds to 3.6 billion pounds, during the same period. Mexican growers denied dumping and instead insisted that Florida hadn’t remained competitive in producing quality tomatoes at an affordable price. But if domestic tomato growers experience hurricanes or frost this fall and winter, the lack of Mexican tomatoes will be noticeable.

Source: Washington Post May 07, 2019 18:20 UTC