Mexican tomato growers are bracing for major impacts, including reduced exports, job losses and declining domestic prices, following the United States' imposition of a 17.09 percent duty on most fresh tomatoes imported from Mexico on July 14.
The decision to impose the duty was announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce, marking a withdrawal from the 2019 agreement between the two countries to suspend the antidumping investigation on fresh tomatoes.
Mexico's ministries of economy and agriculture said on Monday in a joint statement that the U.S. decision was unfair, as it not only harms the interests of Mexican producers but also affects U.S. related industries and consumers.
Mexico supplies at least two-thirds of the tomatoes consumed in the United States, with annual exports worth more than 2.8 billion U.S. dollars.
In the Mexican state of Morelos, one of the country’s major tomato-producing regions, growers say they expect reduced exports to the United States due to the newly imposed duty, and they believe American consumers will also feel the impact of higher tomato prices.
"We believe that the export of Mexican tomatoes to the United States will drop by at least 15 to 20 percent as a result of the newly imposed duty. The tomatoes, which previously would head towards the U.S. market, will stay in Mexico and the U.S. consumers will pay more for imported Mexican tomatoes because they have to pay the duty," said Humberto Sandoval Zamora, a tomato grower in Morelos.
Beyond the growers, the entire industry is bracing for broader impacts, as key stages of production -- from cultivation and picking to transportation -- are poised to take a heavy hit.
"Since exporting tomatoes to the U.S. has become less profitable, we will pick less and transport less tomatoes in Mexico, and as a result less workers are needed. The newly imposed U.S. duty will lead to job cuts and many people will become unemployed," said Jose, a tomato picker.
Major Mexican tomato exporters have decided to cut shipments to the U.S. market, while tomato prices in Mexico have dropped sharply due to a drastic increase in supply.
"Over the past three days, domestic tomato prices have dropped by nearly 40 percent, and they’re still falling," said a tomato distributor in Morelos.
Mexican tomato growers brace for industry-wide impact from US tariff
Li Lan, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC), said that the infrastructure at the Alashankou port, also known as Alataw Pass, a major railway port in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, should be further upgraded and used intensively and efficiently to better support the high-quality development of foreign trade.
Located on the border with Kazakhstan, the Alashankou port serves as a key transportation corridor linking China with Central Asia and Europe. Freight services passing through Alashankou now cover 128 routes, connecting China with 21 countries. Cargo carried ranges from auto parts and electronic products to daily consumer goods, according to customs data.
Li, director of the port's customs technical center, has witnessed profound changes of the land port amid the country's opening-up drive.
As an important gateway opening up to the west, the Alashankou port has become one of the fastest-growing ports in terms of the foreign trade cargo throughput since the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was proposed by China. While performing her duties as an NPC deputy during the past year, Li focused on addressing the pain points facing foreign trade enterprises in their process for customs clearance.
"We have also conducted market research in Central Asia. Initially, we thought that our infrastructure was significantly superior to theirs. However, in recent years, their infrastructure has greatly been modernized and highly efficient. Also, their customs clearance efficiency has improved rapidly. On the other side, I think our infrastructure, including customs clearance capabilities, needs to be enhanced and further improved," said Zheng Jiahong, the person in charge of a local enterprise.
Through field research, Li discovered that a lack of standardized provisions regarding regarding the number of channels at ports of different levels, the configuration of inspection facilities and equipment, the layout of functional areas, operational procedures, and human resource guarantee significantly constrained customs clearance efficiency at the port, thereby adding burdens to logistics companies.
"In international trade, the logistics cycle is a key factor affecting the profits of foreign trade enterprises. It's safe to say that every hour, every minute counts on our cost. Saving time essentially means increasing corporate profits," said Shan Pu, the person in charge of a logistics enterprise in Alashankou City.
Xinjiang boasts 16 of the 101 land ports across China. In Li's research, she found that the primary entities responsible for port construction in various regions are often prefecture-level or even county-level governments, leading to a lack of unified standards for first-class port construction, which makes it more challenging to meet the growing demands of foreign trade development.
In her proposal to this year's NPC session, Li suggests that the National Standards for the Construction of Port Inspection Infrastructure should be revised at a faster pace at the national level, so as to provide scientific guidance for the construction of ports across the country and enable them to adapt to the increasing demands of imports and exports.
"During this year's 'two sessions', while exchanging views with several deputies from the delegation of Xinjiang, I noticed a shared aspiration that everyone is eager for Xinjiang to make greater contributions to the country's overall plan of opening up to the west. Through my thorough and in-depth research, I hope that the relevant ministries and commissions will expedite the formulation of a new edition of the National Standards for the Construction of Port Inspection Infrastructure. This will enable the upgrading of our ports, better equipping them to meet the demands of high-quality development in the country's foreign trade sector in the future," Li said.
The "two sessions" refer to the annual meetings of China's top legislature -- the National People's Congress (NPC), and the top political advisory body -- the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The 14th NPC opened its fourth session on Thursday in Beijing.
NPC deputy calls for infrastructure upgrades of land ports in Xinjiang
