Sen. Ashley Moody, along with other Florida members of Congress sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick applauding the Trump administration's decision to terminate a 2019 agreement that failed to keep tomato growers in Mexico from dumping their products into the U.S. market.
In what was a major victory for Florida tomato growers, the U.S. Commerce Department announced in April that it would withdraw from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement, beginning July 14. A 20.91% tariff will then be imposed on most tomatoes from Mexico.
Moody and the other lawmakers said the agreement had "failed to protect" tomato growers and producers from "unfair trade practices." They said the termination is "a long-overdue victory for American agriculture."
"American producers and growers have been harmed for years, and we cannot delay termination of this agreement any longer," they said in the letter made public on Monday. It was sent to Lutnick on Friday.
"The termination of the suspension agreement will allow U.S. tomato growers to compete fairly in the marketplace," wrote the lawmakers, noting that imports of fresh tomatoes from Mexico dating back to 1996 had "decimated American farmers."
READ MORE: Florida tomato growers rejoice over Trump administration decision to end U.S.-Mexico agreement
Mexico's share of the U.S. fresh tomato market rose from about 20% percent to 70% since the mid-1990s, wrote the lawmakers.
"The resulting 2019 Agreement, like its predecessors, failed because Mexican tomato growers and exporters were able to continue to sell injurious, unfairly priced Mexican tomato in the United States despite the new agreement," wrote the lawmakers.
Joining Moody in signing the letter: Sen. Rick Scott and U.S. Reps. Vern Buchanan, Gregory Steube, Byron Donalds, Daniel Webster, Mario Díaz-Balart, Scott Franklin, Carlos Giménez, Gus Bilirakis, H. Morgan Griffith, John Rutherford, Mike Haridopolos, Neal Dunn, Randy Fine, Chuck Edwards, Kat Cammack, Diana Harshbarger, and Tim Burchett.
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