Senators stand together for tomatoes

Arizona’s two U.S. senators have found common ground in a simmering trade dispute over tomatoes.

Republican Martha McSally and Democrat Kyrsten Sinema expressed concern about a federal plan to intensify inspections of Mexican-grown tomatoes entering the country, largely through the major produce-shipment port at Nogales.

The two senators in a letter Tuesday said the proposed regulations were “unworkable” and would hurt Arizona’s economy by requiring every lot of fresh tomatoes imported from Mexico to be inspected at the border, up from a small fraction currently.

The proposal also wouldn’t allow American importers to be compensated by suppliers for tomatoes rejected for poor quality, as is currently the case, they said.

The Commerce Department in July proposed heightened inspections against the wishes of American importers, Mexican growers and the Mexican government, which recently threatened to retaliate by inspecting more U.S. produce, meats, grains and other agricultural products.

McSally and Sinema contend more inspections wouldn’t make sense.

“Imposing unnecessary costs and burdens on the fresh-produce trade hurts the economy of Arizona and eliminates jobs in the state,” the senators wrote in their letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “Ensuring that this trade continues as freely and robustly as possible is a top priority for us.”

The senators argued that there is no legitimate commercial justification for a 100% inspection mandate. Rather, such a policy “would just serve as an artificial barrier to trade,” they said, adding that it could impose $270 million in added costs and antagonize the Mexican government to impose reciprocal inspections on U.S. exports.

“A full-inspection mandate is particularly ill-advised at a time when the land ports of entry are facing delays from staffing and infrastructure shortages,” the letter continued.

Currently, about 8% of Mexicangrown tomatoes are inspected, said Lance Jungmeyer, president of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas, a group in Nogales, Arizona, that represents roughly 120 importers, transportation companies and other businesses engaged in the cross-border produce trade.

There’s no specific deadline as to when the increased inspections might begin, as negotiations continue between the U.S. and Mexican governments.

More warehouses needed

The $270 million in added costs attributed to increased inspections would include about $220 million for the construction of new warehouses to store produce as it awaits examination, along with $25 million for inspectors and $20 million for increased warehouse staff, Jungmeyer said.

“Inspections have nothing to do with health issues, pests or stopping drugs,” he said. “Inspectors are there only to ensure that good-quality tomatoes are being sold.”

The Fresh Produce Association contends heightened inspections of Mexican tomatoes would accomplish nothing because 99% of tomatoes already meet quality standards. But delays of up to 72 hours due to increased inspections could result in less-fresh tomatoes arriving in American stores, the association added.

Some or most of those costs could be passed along to consumers. Tomato prices also will be pressured from the recent imposition of a 17.56% duty on tomatoes imported from Mexico.

The Fresh Produce Association accuses the Florida Tomato Exchange, which represents growers there, of falsely claiming that increased inspections wouldn’t impact the flow of trade.

“Many of our members are dismayed because they believe that Commerce has not verified the claims made by the FTE and are acting solely upon accusations that we know are untrue,” Jungmeyer said.

A call to the Florida Tomato Exchange wasn’t immediately returned.