The Biden administration will address Mexico’s trade practices although it will not open a formal investigation into unfair government support of the produce industry, said the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association on Sunday. The trade group said the administration “has made clear it recognizes the urgent need for immediate, effective and enforceable solutions, which we believe includes all trade relief options.”
The administration will move forward with “near-term solutions that … stem the onslaught of unfair seasonal and perishable produce from Mexico,” said the trade group without detail.
In early September, Florida lawmakers asked U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai for a Section 301 investigation of “the flood of imported season and perishable products from Mexico … specifically fruits and vegetables grown with subsidized horticultural infrastructure and other forms of Mexican government support, which over the past two decades have burdened and restricted U.S. commerce.” Mexico aimed to displace Florida in the winter and spring vegetable market, said the Floridians.
The U.S. Apple Association said a Section 301 investigation “could have been followed by tariffs on imported produce and, in turn, retaliatory tariffs from Mexico. That has happened in the past where U.S. apples were the targets of retaliation.”