Here’s how a major Mexican tomato exporter is affected by Trump’s 17% tariff

AJUCHITLAN Mexico AP The Trump administration s decision to impose a duty on fresh tomatoes imported from Mexico has created a dilemma for the country providing more tomatoes to U S consumers than any other The import tax that began July is just the latest protectionist move by an administration that has threatened dozens of countries with tariffs including its critical trading partner Mexico It comes as the Mexican establishment tries to also negotiate its way out of a general tariff scheduled to take effect Aug While the impacts of the tomato tariff are still in their infancy a major grower and exporter in central Mexico shows how a tariff targeting a single product can destabilize the sector Surviving in times of uncertainty Green tomato plants stretch upward row after row in sprawling high-tech greenhouses covering nearly six acres in the central state of Queretaro among the top tomato producing states in Mexico Context controlled and pest free Veggie Prime s greenhouses in Ajuchitlan send particular tons of fresh tomatoes every week to Mastronardi Produce The Canadian company is the leading distributor of fresh tomatoes in the U S with clients that include Costco and Walmart Mois s Atri Veggie Prime s export director says they ve been exporting tomatoes to the U S for years and their substantial expenditure and the cost to produce their tomatoes won t allow them to make any immediate changes They re also contractually obligated to sell everything they produce to Mastronardi until None of us producers can afford it Atri reported We have to approach our client to adjust the prices because we re nowhere near making that kind of profit In the tariff s first week Veggie Prime ate the entire charge In the second its share of the new cost lowered when its client agreed to increase the price of their tomatoes by The -year-old Atri hopes that Mastronardi will eventually pass all of the tariff s cost onto its retail clients Mexican tomato exports brought in billion last year Experts say the tariff could cause a to drop in tomato exports which last year amounted to more than billion for Mexico The Mexican Association of Tomato Producers says the industry generates various jobs Juan Carlos Anaya director general of the consulting firm Grupo Consultor de Mercados Agr colas announced a drop in tomato exports which last year amounted to more than billion tons could lead to the loss of specific jobs Experts U S will have difficulty replacing fresh Mexican tomatoes When the Trump administration publicized the tariff the Commerce Department justified it as a measure to protect U S producers from artificially cheap Mexican imports California and Florida growers that produce about million tons would stand to benefit preponderance though majority of of that production is for processed tomatoes Experts believe the U S would find it demanding to replace Mexico s fresh tomato imports Atri and other producers are waiting for a scheduled review of the measure in two months when the U S heads into fall and fresh tomato production there begins to decline In reaction to the tariff the Mexican authorities has floated the idea of looking for other more stable international markets Mexican Agriculture Secretary Julio Berdegu revealed Thursday that the establishment is looking at possibilities like Japan but producers rapidly cast doubt on that idea noting the tomatoes would have to be sent by plane raising the cost even more Atri commented the company is starting to experiment with peppers to see if they would provide an option at scale President Claudia Sheinbaum stated in recent days her administration would survey tomato growers to figure out what aid they need especially small producers who are already feeling the effects of a drop of more than in the price of tomatoes domestically over fears there will be a glut in Mexico