Tag: florida tomato exchange

This is not Florida vs. Mexico. This is legal process supported by the vast majority of American tomato growers.

The recent request by the Florida Tomato Exchange (FTE) asking the Department of Commerce to withdraw from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement jeopardizes the availability of the variety of tomatoes that US consumers expect at prices they can afford and would harm U.S. businesses. 

Today, the Florida Tomato Exchange filed a request with the U.S. Department of Commerce to terminate the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement because it has failed to stop unfairly traded Mexican tomatoes from destroying the U.S. tomato industry.

Florida’s November tomato crop will be smaller than normal due to the impact of Hurricane Ian, but Florida will remain a significant supplier from now through December.

Despite erroneous claims by the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, the Florida Tomato Exchange hasn’t proposed any changes to the Tomato Suspension Agreement.

The Florida Tomato Exchange is pushing the Department of Commerce to fundamentally change long-standing industry sales practices to the benefit of a small group of Florida growers and the detriment of the produce industry at large.

Any information deemed credible will be forwarded to the U.S. Department of Commerce with a request to be treated under an Administrative Protective Order so that it will not be made public.

Nearly five months after they began, how well have the border inspections worked?

The investigation was suspended on September 19, 2019, when a new suspension agreement between the Department of Commerce and Mexican growers and exporters went into effect. U.S. trade law, however, permits domestic producers to request continuation of the investigation.