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December 20, 2002
New Tomato Suspension Agreement Sets Floor Price on Tomato Imports from Mexico
On December 16, 2002, the Federal Register published a notice that the new Tomato Suspension Agreement signed with Mexico and the Department of Commerce on December 4 is now official. The agreement suspends the antidumping investigation on fresh tomatoes from Mexico. Under the new agreement, tomatoes from Mexico may not be sold for less than an established floor price of 17.2 cents per pound in the summer and 21.08 cents per pound in the winter. The new agreement covers all Mexican growers (Sinaloa, Baja, and Jalisco), while the prior agreement included mainly Sinaloa and a few Baja growers. The new agreement includes enforcement procedures and requires that the Mexican producers and exporters to sell fresh tomatoes to their U.S. customers in such a way that will, 1) eliminate completely the injurious effects of exports to the United States of subject merchandise, and 2) prevent the suppression or undercutting of price levels of domestic fresh tomatoes by imports from Mexico. In calendar year 2001, U.S. imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico were valued at about $485 million.
The Philippines Government Imposes
Temporary Ban on Vegetable Imports
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) to temporarily stop issuing import permits for vegetable products, effective immediately. The BPI is currently working on finalizing details of this order. This action was taken after local vegetable farmers complained that a surge of low-priced vegetable imports was hurting their industry. Reportedly, local vegetable prices have been depressed an influx of unregistered vegetable products from China and Taiwan rather than legal imports, which have continued to decline over the past three years. From January to September 2002, U.S. exports of fresh vegetables to the Philippines were valued at $249,000, compared with $1.9 million during the same period in 2001. Most of these vegetables go to luxury hotels and American restaurant chains.
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