Mexico Suspends All Tariffs Against U.S.

Posted by Christina Herrick|October 21, 2011

Mexico suspended all retaliatory tariffs against the U.S. in response to the implementation of a July U.S.-Mexico agreement. This ends more than two and a half years of tariffs over a cross-border trucking dispute. It will have a positive impact on the fresh produce industry and level the playing field between the two countries.

The move was praised by the president and CEO of Western Growers, Tom Nassif. “Today’s announcement by the Government of Mexico means the fresh produce industry will no longer be caught in the middle of a dispute that created an economic barrier to trade for our farmers,” he said. “We’re pleased that the two governments have been able to resolve a dispute that restricted access to a critical trading partner.”

These tariffs had ranged from 10% to 45% on certain fruits, vegetables, and nuts shipped to Mexico.

Western Growers has strongly advocated the resolution of this dispute, petitioning Congress and federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative since March 2009, to fully implement U.S. obligations under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

The fresh produce industry — particularly producers of pears, grapes, onions, lettuce, almonds, strawberries, cherries, apricots, and dates — have seen sales to Mexico drop considerably due to the tariffs levied by Mexico on these and other U.S. exports. These tariffs were in retaliation to the U.S. government’s termination of the pilot trucking program.