Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) issued a statement condemning President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the 2019 Tomato Suspension Agreement, which took effect on Monday.
The Tomato Suspension Agreement of 2019 mandated that Mexican produce growers sell tomatoes at a price equal to or greater than an established reference price to prevent the detrimental effects of fresh tomato imports into the United States.
However, the agreement left American growers at a disadvantage, and with the withdrawal, imported Mexican tomatoes will be subject to a 21% duty.
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The Trump Administration announced the withdrawal in April. It would come into effect 90 days from the announcement, which Florida's Representative Kat Cammack (R-FL) praised, saying American producers would benefit from the withdrawal.
"For half a decade now, our producers have been subject to an unfair marketplace," said Rep. Cammack, adding, "In the past five years alone, Mexican tomato producers have violated the suspension agreement over 100 times. The economic impact of these violations has been catastrophic on our domestic tomato producers."
However, Sen. Gallego disagreed, calling the enactment of the withdrawal "a bad day for the thousands of Arizonans whose livelihoods depend on tomato trading and for the millions of Americans who can't afford to pay more at the grocery store."
"For years, I've been fighting back against the tomato tax – calling out both Democratic and Republican administrations," Sen. Gallego continued, adding, "Unfortunately, the Trump administration hasn't listened. With Trump's tomato tax going into effect today, we must continue to highlight the harm this will cause."
In June, the Arizona Senator brought attention to the grocery chain Kroger offering fraudulent discounts. Specifically, one-third of sales tags were kept on the products for ten days after discounts expired. Furthermore, in five instances, products continued to be advertised as on sale 90 days after the original discount period ended.
"At a time when American families are facing high costs for essentials, unexpected food price increases can cause significant strain on family budgets," Gallego wrote to Kroger CEO Ronald Sargent, adding, "We write to urge you to create a plan with union partners to prevent overcharging from occurring in the future, compensate consumers who have been overcharged, and ensure sufficient staffing at stores to prevent overcharging."
