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Florida produce industry calls for NAFTA 2.0 to address trade deficit with Mexico

July 27, 2017

U.S. fruit and vegetable growers will face economic ruin if steps aren't taken in the renegotiation of NAFTA to address Mexico's unfair trading practices, said Reginald Brown, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Growers Exchange.

"All is not well when there is a $5.3 billion deficit, and it's on the backs of the fruit and vegetable industry in this country," Brown said, referring to the U.S. trade deficit in produce with Mexico, during a House Agriculture Committee hearing on NAFTA 2.0 today.

He added that similar concerns can be found in farming regions across the country, including among producers of blueberries and broccoli in Georgia, watermelon in Texas, and grapes and asparagus in California.

Mexico prices fruits and vegetables below the cost of production and employs a web of subsidy schemes to boost production, Brown said. Farm workers there are also paid about 10 percent of what U.S. agricultural workers earn, Brown added.

But Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) challenged Brown's statement that specialty crops are "an industry under assault." He argued that produce growers in California's Salinas Valley are benefiting from NAFTA because it allows them to easily start additional businesses in Mexico.

"There are family farms that continue to be successful during the winter months because they have farms in Mexico," Panetta said. "It turns out to be a complementary relationship. They make money and invest in their farms in the United States, including in mechanization, to help with the lack of labor situation they're facing."

Brown said he is aware of those business models, but added that his concern is rooted in Mexico's subsidies depressing prices.

Issues:Agriculture