Washington will impose new tariffs on Mexican tomatoes, US media reported on Tuesday, citing the US Department of Commerce.
The US recently terminated a trade agreement with Mexico regulating tomato imports and is preparing to impose a new tariff of just over 17 per cent. The tariff announced by the administration of US President Donald Trump is slightly lower than the nearly 21 per cent levy that the government said it intended to impose in April.
“Mexico remains one of our closest allies, but our farmers have suffered for too long from unfair trade practices that have driven down prices for products such as tomatoes. Today, that will come to an end,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement.
The Mexican government called the US tax politicised and “unfair.” In a joint statement, the country’s agriculture and economy ministries noted that the market share gained by Mexican tomato farmers was due to “the quality of their products, not any unfair practices.” Producers from the neighbouring country said that their products cannot be replaced in the near future, as about two-thirds of US demand is met by supplies from Mexico.
Earlier, Trump said that from August 1, the US would impose 30% tariffs on goods from the EU and Mexico. According to him, if the European or Mexican authorities decide to respond with their own tariffs, the US will add them to its tariffs.
