As NAFTA renegotiations begin on Wednesday, U.S. negotiators are planning to introduce a proposal aimed at making it easier for produce growers to bring potential anti-dumping cases against Mexico. That is a move that will make Southeast growers happy, but it could also fuel criticism of the Trump administration’s protectionism. The proposal would make it easier for U.S. fruit and vegetable producers to prove that Mexico is dumping produce into the U.S. at below-market prices. The current rule says U.S. producers need to prove damage by gathering three years of seasonal data.
The new U.S. proposal would make it possible to prove dumping cases through using a single season’s worth of data. However, there are groups against the proposed move. Lance Jungemeyer, President of the Fresh Produce Association of America, called it a “Pandora’s box.” He says, “If tomato growers in the Carolinas do it (file a dumping complaint), if Florida does it, if New Jersey does it, you’re looking at what could essentially be a year-round tariff.” Jungemeyer’s group represents Mexican growers and advocates for free trade in produce across the Americas.
Source: NAFB News Service