US imposes a 17% duty on fresh Mexican tomatoes in hopes of boosting
domestic production
[July 15, 2025] By
DEE-ANN DURBIN
The U.S. government said Monday it is immediately placing a 17% duty on
most fresh Mexican tomatoes after negotiations ended without an
agreement to avert the tariff.
Proponents said the import tax will help rebuild the shrinking U.S.
tomato industry and ensure that produce eaten in the U.S. is also grown
there. Mexico currently supplies around 70% of the U.S. tomato market,
up from 30% two decades ago, according to the Florida Tomato Exchange.
Robert Guenther, the trade group's executive vice president, said the
duty was “an enormous victory for American tomato farmers and American
agriculture."
But opponents said the import tax will make tomatoes more expensive for
U.S. consumers.
Mexico's Economic Secretary Marcelo Ebrard said the government would
continue looking for a way to once again suspend the tariff, part of
ongoing negotiations between the two trading partners. In a statement
Monday, he wrote that the move would "only affect the pockets of
American consumers.
“It's unfair and against not only Mexican producers, but on the American
industry. The ground that Mexican fresh tomatoes has gained in the U.S.
is because of the quality of the product, not from unfair practices," he
wrote.
Mexican greenhouses specialize in vine-ripened tomatoes, while Florida
tomatoes are typically grown in fields and picked green.
Tim Richards, a professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at
Arizona State University, said U.S. retail prices for tomatoes will
likely rise around 8.5% with a 17% duty.
Jacob Jensen, a trade policy analyst at the American Action Forum, a
right-leaning policy institute, said areas with a higher reliance on
Mexican tomatoes could see price increases close to 10%, since it will
be more difficult to replace that supply, while other parts of the U.S.
could see price increases closer to 6%.
“As an industry, we are saddened that American consumers will have to
pay a tomato tax, or duty, for a reduced selection of the tomatoes they
prefer, such as tomatoes on the vine, grape tomatoes, Romas, cocktail
tomatoes and other specialty varieties,” said Lance Jungmeyer, president
of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which represents
importers of Mexican tomatoes.
The duty stems from a longstanding U.S. complaint about Mexico's tomato
exports and is separate from the 30% base tariff on products made in
Mexico and the European Union that President Donald Trump announced
Saturday.
The Commerce Department said in late April that it was withdrawing from
a deal it first reached with Mexico in 2019 to settle allegations the
country was exporting tomatoes to the U.S. at artificially low prices, a
practice known as dumping.
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Tomatoes imported from Mexico are for sale in a supermarket in
Miami, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
 As part of the deal, Mexico had to
sell its tomatoes at a minimum price and abide by other rules. Since
then, the agreement has been subject to periodic reviews, but the
two sides always reached an agreement that avoided duties.
In announcing its withdrawal from the Tomato Suspension Agreement,
the Commerce Department said it had been “flooded with comments”
from U.S. tomato growers who wanted better protection from Mexican
goods.
“Mexico remains one of our greatest allies, but for far too long our
farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut
pricing on produce like tomatoes. That ends today,” Commerce
Secretary Howard Lutnick said in a statement. “This rule change is
in line with President Trump’s trade policies and approach with
Mexico.”
But others, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National
Restaurant Association, had called on the Commerce Department to
reach an agreement with Mexico. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a
Republican, and Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, had also urged
the Commerce Department to leave the current tomato agreement in
place.
In a letter sent to Lutnick last week, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
and 30 other business groups said U.S. companies employ 50,000
workers and generate $8.3 billion in economic benefits moving
tomatoes from Mexico into communities across the country.
“We are concerned that withdrawing from the agreement — at a time
when the business community is already navigating significant trade
uncertainty — could lead to retaliatory actions by our trading
partners against other commodities and crops that could create
further hardship for U.S. businesses and consumers,” the letter
said.
——
Associated Press journalist Megan Janetsky contributed to this
report from Mexico City.
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