U.S. moves toward agreement on Mexican tomatoes

The U.S. Department of Commerce says it’s reached a tentative deal with Mexican tomato producers to prevent unfairly cheap produce from reaching American consumers, heading off a potential 25 percent tariff.

Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said Wednesday the draft agreement “meets the needs of both sides.”

The U.S. imports about $2 billion of Mexican tomatoes yearly.

The department said the deal with benefit tomato producers across America, including those in Florida, Indiana, Texas and Arizona. Indiana is the third-largest tomato producer among states, trailing only California and Florida, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

The agreement sets minimum prices for Mexican tomatoes, including a 40% premium on organic imports.

The final deal has to be signed by Sept. 19 in order to definitively suspend an investigation that could have led to the tariffs. The probe into alleged dumping and price suppression began at the request of the Florida Tomato Exchange.