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Fresh produce groups ask for trade resolutions  

A coalition of North American produce groups is encouraging leaders to settle trade disputes without tariffs on fresh food.

Rebeckah Adcock, vice president of U.S. government relations with the International Fresh Produce Association, says the supply chain is deeply interconnected across the continent.

“Keeping tariffs non-existent or certainly exceptionally low on these products allows for that free flow of that product,” she says. “And we’re keeping the supply at a level that will keep that cost manageable and affordable.”

Adcock tells Brownfield the U.S. is currently upholding its fresh produce commitments under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and issues should be resolved during the upcoming review process.

“Canada, however, has chosen to take retaliatory action on some of our products,” she says. “We’re trying to avoid that contagion occurring. We would like to see the waters cooled and calmed, certainly as it comes to our products.”

She says there are better ways the U.S. government could support domestic specialty crop production without upsetting trade relationships.

“It’s expensive,” she explains. “We have tremendous labor challenges. Most Americans don’t want to work on a farm, and bringing foreign labor in is very challenging. Regulatory environments, taxation— all sorts of things that affect just being in business are hard to do in the U.S. right now.”

U.S. fruits and vegetables imported into Canada have faced 25 percent retaliatory tariffs since March.

President Trump is threatening 35 percent tariffs on all Canadian goods not covered by the USMCA, and 30 percent tariffs on Mexican goods if deals are not reached by the end of this week.