Tomato Tariff Means End To Always In Season Tomatoes

Posted on by Constitutional Nobody

Oh my gravy. The world is ending again this month. Trump 2.0 has announced that a 17% tariff will be added to all tomatoes that are imported from Mexico. According to the New York Times, this could spell the end of the year-round grocery store tomato. To this I say, “Huzzah”. But, what is the real story and do we have alternatives?

I cannot be called a tomato connoisseur. I know the plum variety is best for Italian cooking, and I grow grape and cherry varieties. The best tomato by far, in my humble opinion, is the good old slicing kind for sandwiches. Big Boys or Better Boys for the win. I once grew Purple Cherokee Heirloom tomatoes, my husband would not eat them. While not really purple, the color wasn’t right.

The New York Times, which does nothing but fear-monger, last night printed “Another Casualty in the Tariffs Wars: The Always-in-Season Tomato” with the sub-lede “The Trump administration is adding a 17 percent tariff to a year-round grocery store staple, while funneling more business to domestic tomato growers, largely in Florida.” Oh noes! The article begins:

The Trump administration announced Monday that it would impose a 17 percent tariff on most imports of tomatoes from Mexico, as it withdrew from a decades-old trade agreement that had prevented those levies from snapping into place.

The tariffs will add to the price of a year-round grocery store staple for many Americans, while funneling more business to domestic tomato growers, largely in Florida.

Remember earlier this year, when the avocado toast and guacamole people got askeered that they would starve?

Even the wonderful Victory Girls had to admit that we didn’t know how this whole tariff thing would shake out. “Tariffs And Talk: What Happens After Is The Big Open Question”.

Avocados are twice as expensive this year due to supply chain disruptions and weather issues. Consumers make a choice to pay up or do without. Now, we may be faced with the same question regarding tomatoes. More from the Times:

The levies stem from a nearly 30-year-old trade case that found Mexican tomato growers to be selling their products in the United States at unfairly low prices. The U.S. tomato industry brought a case against their Mexican competitors in 1996, arguing that Mexican tomatoes dumped into the United States were injuring American growers. A U.S. trade court agreed with them, and ordered tariffs to be imposed.

But on five occasions since then — in 1996, 2002, 2008, 2013 and 2019 — the United States agreed to suspend the tariffs, as long as Mexican growers would keep their prices above a certain minimum level. The United States and Mexico had been in recent talks about entering into a new agreement.

“Mexico remains one of our greatest allies, but for far too long our farmers have been crushed by unfair trade practices that undercut pricing on produce like tomatoes,” Howard Lutnick, the secretary of commerce, said in a statement. “That ends today. This rule change is in line with President Trump’s trade policies and approach with Mexico.”

Damn skippy. The country of Mexico doesn’t grow better tomatoes. They use unfair trade practices.

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Turns out it’s only 17%. Here is more from the Times that will put you off your feed:

The Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, which represents companies that import and sell produce and flowers, said it was “disappointed” in the decision. It said that its members distributed vine-ripened, greenhouse-grown tomatoes from Mexico that are not replaceable by tomatoes grown in Florida and the Southeast, most of which are grown in an open field, picked green and gassed to induce a color change.

“As an industry, we are saddened that American consumers will have to pay a tomato tax, or duty, for a reduced selection of the tomatoes they prefer,” the group said.

What is more nauseating? The grainy, dry greenhouse tomatoes or the gassed ones? Don’t answer that. Both. And, then the Huffington Post weighed in:

From the article:

But opponents, including U.S. companies that grow tomatoes in Mexico, said the tariff will make fresh tomatoes more expensive for U.S. buyers.

Tim Richards, a professor at the Morrison School of Agribusiness at Arizona State University, said U.S. retail prices for tomatoes will likely rise around 8.5% with a 17% duty.

The duty stems from a longstanding U.S. complaint about Mexico’s tomato exports and is separate from the 30% base tariff on products made in Mexico and the European Union that President Donald Trump announced on Saturday.

How about Mexico’s product sucks. Dry, grainy and tasteless any time of the year. Our household has banned out of season tomatoes because we are snobs. You don’t have to be fancy to preserve.

Get together with a friend to can. It’s not hard. Buy canned tomatoes from the grocery store. Cento canned tomatoes are from Italy and available at many grocery stores.

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This time of year, the best gourmet meal is to walk out the side door. Grab a couple of tomatoes off of the vine, wash and slice. White bread, Dukes Mayonnaise, salt, pepper and a couple of slices. I live all winter waiting for them.

What tariffs?

Featured Image: Toni Williams Personal Tomatoes/cropped/

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Author: Toni Williams

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