The Trump administration imposes 17% of the rate on fresh Mexican tomatoes

The Trump administration is imposing a 17% rate in most fresh Mexican tomatoes, the federal government said on Monday, which ended a year agreement with the southern neighborhood of the United States for commercial practices.

The measure is produced in the middle of a separate impulse from President Trump to increase tariffs to dozens of US commercial partners, including Mexico, which was told during the weekend Wait 30% tariffs from August. Critics argue that the president’s tariff strategy could increase consumer prices. But the Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick, said in a statement on Monday that the decision on the tomatoes is “in line with the commercial policies of President Trump and the focus with Mexico.”

“Mexico is still one of our greatest allies, but for too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair commercial practices that undermine products such as tomatoes. That ends today,” Lutnick said in a statement.

The United States obtains about 70% of its tomatoes in Mexico, according to Florida Tomato Exchange. Approximately $ 3 billion are exported in tomatoes from Mexico to the United States every year, a jump of almost three times in the last 15 years, according to federal data.

Supporters argue that tariffs could boost the domestic tomato industry, which according to the exchange of Florida tomato has been “decimated by an influx of cheap Mexican tomatoes.” But others warn that the measure could lead to higher prices and damage US companies that depend on imported tomatoes.

Tariffs follow a complicated dispute of almost three decades about accusations that Mexican tomato producers illegally sold tomatoes to the United States at unjustly low prices, damaging US producers. The Federal Government reached an agreement in 2019, during Mr. Trump’s first mandate, which avoided “anti -dumping” tasks in tomatoes in exchange for Mexican producers to agree a minimum sale price.

In April, the Department of Commerce announced that the United States to leave that agreement in 90 days, saying that “it has not been able to protect tomato producers from the United States from Mexican imports at unjustly prices.” The Commerce Department said it would impose tariffs of 20.91%, a little higher than the taxes of 17.09% announced on Monday.

The exchange of Florida tomato praised the measure in a statement on Monday. The executive vice president of the group, Robert Guenther, described him as “a huge victory for American tomato farmers and American agriculture.”

A group of legislators in Florida, which is one of the largest tomato producing states in the United States, praised the duties planned in a letter to Lutnick last month. Senator Rick Scott, a Florida Republican, described the measure in “a great victory for American producers and producers.”

But the United States Chamber of Commerce urged Lutnick not to leave the agreement on Friday, arguing that the Trump administration should try to reduce a new agreement with Mexico. The group said that “the importation and sale of Mexican tomatoes generate approximately $ 8.3 billion in economic benefits,” and warned that retiring from the agreement could cause reprisals from Mexico.

“Finishing the agreement would probably have generalized repercussions on the economy of the United States, affecting agriculture, storage, logistics, groceries and restaurant industries,” the group said in a letter to Lutnick.

The period prior to Monday’s decision also caused criticism of some Democrats.

“Arizona, buy your tomatoes now!” Senator Ruben Gallego, Arizona Democrat, wrote in X last week. “The groceries are already too expensive. [Mr. Trump] You need to reverse this decision now. “

“The sauce will be more expensive, the most empty shelves and the most expensive groceries. Tens of thousands of jobs, including 30,000 Texans, will be at risk,” wrote representative Sylvia García, a Texas Democrat, wrote in X.

The Ministries of Agriculture and Economics of Mexico criticized the measure in a statement on Monday, saying that it was “unfair and against interest not only of Mexican producers but also of the United States industry.” They also said that the massive growth of tomato exports to the United States “comes from the quality of the product, not from any unfair practice.” The Mexican government said it hoped to find a solution to the dispute.

Trump has sent letters to dozens of US commercial partners during the last week threatening higher tariffs from August, partially restoring some of the steep taxes in country by country that were implemented by the Trump administration in April, but quickly delayed for 90 days. The president argues that rates are necessary to protect national jobs and correct unfair commercial practices, but many economists argue that tariffs can lead to slow economic growth and higher prices.

Food prices grew 2.9% in the 12 -month period that ended in May, higher than the general inflation rate of 2.4% of the country, but well below mid -2022, when food prices grew more than 10% year after year, according to federal data. The price of tomatoes fell 6.8% from May 2024 to May 2025.

The president of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, told legislators last month that he expects tariffs to have some impact on prices. But he added: “We really don’t know how much of that will be passed through the consumer. We have to wait and see.”

The Association press contributed to this report.

• Mexico
• Howard Lutnick