Commerce Faces Conflicting Pressures In Mexican Tomato AD Case

摘要

Commerce Department officials are facing conflicting pressures from U.S. and Mexican tomato growers over a formal request by U.S. producers to terminate an antidumping (AD) investigation on Mexican tomato imports and an associated suspension agreement that sets a floor price for tomato imports from Mexico. The suspension agreement, which has already been revised twice, was meant to settle the longstanding dispute over prices of Mexican imports, but U.S. growers argue it no longer ensures fair competition. They want to terminate the suspension agreement, most likely to mount a new AD case with new data, which they believe would offer them more protection from imports. Mexican growers are opposing that termination but have offered to renegotiate the existing suspension agreement, which one source said means both the floor price and the enforcement provisions meant to ensure that growers do not sell below it. Lawyers for Mexican growers offered the renegotiation in a July 3 meeting with Commerce officials, according to a Commerce memo describing the meeting that has been placed in the public case file. U.S. growers insist that renegotiation is not a valid option for them, because it could only make minimal changes that would be ineffective in ensuring fair pricing.