By Clint Thompson
Tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration last week did not include products covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). That’s a missed opportunity to help Southeast specialty crop growers impacted by seasonal imports, says Chris Butts, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (GFVGA).
“Our greater concern is just disappointment that we felt like the tariffs could have been an opportunity to level the playing field for Southeastern growers if they had been issued on fruits and vegetables. We are a little disappointed that they weren’t included,” Butts said.
“We would have liked to have seen the tariffs slow down the flood of super cheap priced materials. Perhaps it would have incentivized people to look more to buy American first. We thought there was an opportunity there, but it may come back up again at some point.”
Baseline Tariffs
Baseline tariffs of 10% were laid out on imports from other countries. President Trump will also impose an individualized reciprocal higher tariff on the countries with which the U.S. has the largest trade deficits. However, this action did not impact USMCA compliant goods, which includes fruits and vegetables. The lack of tariffs on Mexico is significant since Mexican imports are what impact fruit and vegetable growers the most in Florida and Georgia.
Butts’ concern moving forward is how reciprocal tariffs could impact inputs being imported into the U.S.
“I guess our concern comes now, what is this going to do to input prices; plant protection stuff? Are we going to see a rise in input costs and inflation but still no protection from cheap imports to level the playing field?” Butts said.
“Maybe it’s plant protection materials that originate from China, but a lot of what we use on the farm, at least starts or passes through other countries. It is a concern to see what that’s going to mean for this production season.”