The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, USDA and Department of Commerce (DOC) have received two days of testimony via hearings August 13 and 20 on the matter of imports of fresh and seasonal produce into the U.S.
The sessions have seen produce growers from Florida and Georgia testify that shipments of these products from Mexico are negatively impacting U.S. growers, but also that the produce industry and others indicate the situation merely is a case of market competition and not trade-distorting efforts by Mexico.
The administration has pledged to develop a policy response by September 1. Special Ag Trade Negotiator at USTR Gregg Doud remarked at the August 20 session that he was struck by the “stark contrast” between growers and other ag groups.
“Everybody has put a lot of time and effort into their testimony and next step is for the administration to put time and effort into how to move this forward and that's exactly what we will do,” he said.
USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue acknowledged the issue has been “one of the most frustrating things” his agency has dealt with. “Help us figure out how we can help and mitigate the issues that you're facing and the challenges you are facing with something realistic that we can do under United States law and trade policy,” Perdue urged.
It remains to be seen if the administration will come back with a plan that will make it easier for U.S. produce growers to challenge imports from Mexico, a provision that was not included in the final U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
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