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| Horticultural & Tropical Products Division | Return to the H&TP Home Page |
September 13, 2002
Poland Reduces Import Duties on U.S. Almonds, Wine
and Grapefruit
On September 6, 2002, as part of the June 2001 Bilateral Trade Agreement between the United States and Poland, the Polish government officially implemented reductions of import duties on U.S. almonds, wine, and grapefruit. The two sides also agreed to review regularly tariff differentials that penalize U.S. exporters as Poland implements tariff reductions consistent with its continuing efforts to join the European Union (EU). The tariff rate for almonds was lowered from 16 percent to 5.6 percent for in shell and from 16 percent to 3.5 percent for shelled almonds. According to the Polish Central Statistical Office, Poland imported 846 metric tons of almonds in calendar year 2001 worth approximately $2.4 million. The import duty assessed on U.S. grapefruit dropped from 15 percent to 5 percent. This duty reduction is expected to encourage higher U.S. exports of grapefruit to Poland. The import duty on wine dropped from 30 percent to 20 percent and this reduction is expected to help offset recent weakness in wine sales to Poland. Prior to the tariff reduction, strong price competition from countries utilizing preferential customs duty terms--EU at 0 percent and Israel and Turkey at 5 percent--hampered U.S. exports to Poland.
This Year’s U.S. Tomatoes For Processing Crop
Expected To Be The Second Highest Ever
The U.S. processed tomato industry is set to cash in on the global downturn in industrial tomato output with the crop being harvested in California, the world’s largest grower, officially forecast to soar to 9.7 million metric tons in 2002, up 25 percent from last year’s 7.8 million tons. During the last few weeks, unrelenting rains have hit Italy and Greece, major world exporters of industrial tomato output, that have caused the tomatoes on the ground to become rotten and split open. The Italian government has declared a state of disaster in its northern region of Piedmont and has invited farmers, whose crops were destroyed by storms, to submit claims for compensation. Other regions in Italy are expected to follow suit. In consequence, world supplies are expected to decrease notably in 2002 providing the United States an opportunity to substantially increase exports of processed tomato products. In calendar year 2001, the United States exported 295,000 tons of processed tomato products with a value of approximately $227 million.
ITC Schedules Injury Hearing on Fresh Tomatoes
from Mexico for December 16
On September 5, 2002, the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) published in the Federal Register a notice on the scheduling of the final phase of an antidumping investigation under section 735 (b) of the Tariff act of 1930 to determine whether an industry in the United States is materially injured or threatened with material injury, or the establishment of an industry in the United States is materially retarded, by reason of less-than-fair-value on imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico. The ITC will hold a hearing on this issue on December 16, 2002. On July 30, 2002, the Department of Commerce terminated the suspension agreement and sunset review process as well, on fresh tomatoes from Mexico and resumed the antidumping investigation. This action was in response to a written notification received on May 31, 2002, from Mexican tomato growers and exporters announcing that they had decided to withdraw from the agreement established in 1996. This notification reactivated the antidumping investigation from the time of the preliminary determination, originally published on November 1, 1996. In calendar year 2001, U.S. imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico were valued at about $485 million.
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