The United States' latest imposition of tariff on tomato imports from Mexico hurts the interests of both Mexican farmers and America's own consumers, Octavio Jurado, head of the Mexican Association of State Agricultural Ministers, said on Friday.
In an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) in Mexico City, Jurado highlighted the importance of Mexico's tomato industry to the U.S., which imports two-thirds of this grocery store staple from its southern neighbor, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jurado also said he believes that the Trump administration's tariff strategy could push up consumer prices in America.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on Monday a duty of 17.09 percent on most tomatoes imported from Mexico, marking a withdrawal from the 2019 agreement between the two countries to suspend the anti-dumping investigation on Mexican tomatoes.
The tariff follows a complicated, decades-long dispute over allegations that Mexican producers were illegally selling tomatoes to the U.S. at unfairly low prices, harming U.S. growers.
It also comes as the Trump administration seeks to negotiate comprehensive trade agreements with its trading partners around the world after it launched a dizzying series of "reciprocal tariffs" in April.
"We firmly believe that no matter where our future trade negotiations with the U.S. side are headed, Mexican tomatoes will remain irreplaceable for the U.S. market. This is due to two simple reasons. The first is Mexico's unique climatic conditions, and the second is that the U.S. lacks Mexico's advanced planting technologies. American consumers will now face a 17-percent increase in tomato prices," said Jurado.
"American consumers will be confronted with two realities: one is soaring tomato prices and the other is further inflation driven by an economic contraction and the increase in the prices of essential foods, which will force them to cut down on spending. Preliminary assessments showed that due to the impact of tariffs, Mexico's tomato exports to the United States will decrease significantly. In the meantime, the demand for tomatoes in the U.S. market is also expected to shrink by approximately 25 percent, resulting in a simultaneous decline in both supply and demand in the American tomato market," he said.
Meanwhile, U.S. media reports said the Trump administration's protectionist policy has led to a 10-percent rise in the prices of Mexican tomatoes at many American grocery stores.
Mexican industry leader criticizes U.S. tomato duty
Mexican industry leader criticizes U.S. tomato duty
Mexican industry leader criticizes U.S. tomato duty
Major breakthroughs by Chinese scientists have laid the foundation for a future where space-based solar power stations are capable of wirelessly transmitting energy to Earth and spacecraft, though significant engineering problems remain.
A research team from Xidian University in northwest China's Shaanxi Province has made significant progress on the Sun Chasing project, or "Zhuri" in Chinese. The team has developed a ground-based test system for wireless power transmission that can charge multiple moving targets at the same time.
In recent tests, the system achieved a wireless power transmission efficiency of 20.8 percent from direct current to direct current over a distance of 100 meters. It delivered 1,180 watts of power. The team has also built a wireless charging system for drones. In a test, a drone flying at 30 kilometers per hour was able to receive 143 watts of stable power from 30 meters away.
A space solar power station works exactly as its name suggests: a huge array of solar panels placed in orbit. It would collect sunlight in space, where the sun always shines, and then convert that energy into microwaves or lasers to beam down to Earth or directly to satellites and spacecraft. This could address two significant issues: supplying uninterrupted power for space missions and alleviating energy shortages on the ground.
"The construction of space solar power stations could become a major undertaking in the future. One potential benefit is access to a virtually unlimited power supply. Because energy can be collected continuously in space 24 hours a day, electricity could be supplied on an uninterrupted basis," said Fan Guanheng, an associate professor at the School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering at Xidian University.
"Secondly, it could reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, thereby lowering carbon emissions and helping protect the environment. Thirdly, it could support the development of charging infrastructure in space and enable wireless microwave charging for spacecraft, changing the way power is supplied to space vehicles," the professor added.
In 2018, the research team launched the first phase of the Sun Chasing project to build a ground test system. By June 2022, they had completed the world's first full-link, full-system ground validation system for a space solar power station. Now, the team has moved to phase two. The goal now is to solve the challenges of generating high power in space and transmitting it efficiently over long distances.
According to Duan Baoyan, an expert at Xidian University and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, recent breakthroughs include improving the efficiency of solar energy collection and conversion, increasing the precision of microwave beam control to reduce energy loss, and making the transmitting and receiving antennas smaller and lighter, which is critical for space application.
The team has also solved the problem of how to power multiple moving targets at once using a single transmitter. This means that in the future, one space power station could potentially supply electricity to several satellites or ground vehicles at the same time, Duan said.
Despite the advances in ground-based validation, a series of technical challenges must still be overcome before the technology can be deployed in space.
"The first issue that needs to be addressed is the adaptability of components to the space environment, as conditions in space are completely different from those on Earth, including radiation exposure and extreme temperatures. Another challenge involves the deployment and retraction design of transmitting and receiving antennas. We also need to develop thermal management systems to cope with extreme temperatures and temperature fluctuations in space. These are all areas where further breakthroughs are needed," said Qian Sihao, an associate professor at the School of Mechano-Electronic Engineering at Xidian University.
"We have now completed the development and validation of a ground-based test system, and our next step is to carry out in-orbit wireless microwave power transmission," Fan said.
With ground validation complete, the team now turns its attention to overcoming the harsh realities of space, aiming to demonstrate in-orbit wireless power transmission and bring the vision of orbital solar energy closer to reality.
Space-to-earth solar power moves closer to reality although hurdles remain: scientists
