Five Arizona congressional members and their colleagues have sent a letter to the Trump administration asking it to reconsider its decision to leave the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement.
The TSA is an agreement between the United States and Mexico regarding the regulation of imported Mexican tomatoes.
In their letter last week to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, the congressional members said terminating this agreement would cause Americans to lose jobs, increase consumer prices and hurt the country’s agricultural supply chain.
Specifically, they are concerned about how this decision will impact state economies like Arizona, Texas, Utah and California.
The congressional members stated that the termination of this agreement could result in more than 50,000 job losses in Arizona and Texas alone.
They said international trade is “critical” for the country’s food supply and ability to meet Americans’ expectations for “affordable, healthy, and quality fresh produce year-round.”
They added that numerous sectors have become dependent on year-round access to tomatoes and other non-American crops.
The letter cited a Texas A&M University study that shows Mexican tomato imports contribute more than $8 billion yearly to America’s economy.
This agreement between the two countries began in 1996 to help inspect tomatoes coming from Mexico. That year, America started an antidumping investigation against Mexico to determine whether its imported tomatoes were sold at a lower than fair value.
U.S. Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, both D-Arizona, with U.S. Reps. David Schweikert, R-Scottsdale; Greg Stanton, R-Prescott; and Yassamin Ansari, D-Phoenix, signed the letter with 11 other congressional members.
