Florida Tomato Exchange statement on the termination of the Tomato Suspension Agreement

Following the U.S. Department of Commerce’s withdrawal of the tomato suspension agreement on May 7, the Florida Tomato Exchanged released the following statement:

“We are pleased that the Commerce Department has terminated the tomato suspension agreement, which presided over a very difficult five-year period for the U.S. tomato industry.  Although the agreement was created with good intentions, it was never effective in protecting American producers from dumped Mexican tomatoes.  As a result, the U.S. industry has declined significantly over the last five years with many tomato growers across the country going out of business.

Negotiations for a new suspension agreement can still continue even as the antidumping investigation is resumed this month.  The U.S. tomato industry remains open to a new suspension agreement so long as it is structured in a way that eliminates the loopholes of the previous agreement and has strong enforcement mechanisms.  If a new agreement cannot be reached, we look forward to the antidumping investigation finally running its full course.”

Media Contact:

Michael Schadler

Executive Vice President

Florida Tomato Exchange

michael@floridatomatoes.org