Groundswell Grows Behind Petition To Protect Florida Fruits and Vegetables
September 16, 2022 A growing number of specialty agriculture industry associations in Florida are raising their collective voices in support of the state delegation’s Section 301 petition filed by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Congressman Al Lawson to protect its fresh fruit and vegetable farmers from the rapidly rising onslaught of heavily subsidized Mexican produce.
“Now is the time to deliver relief to domestic producers under assault from foreign imports, including blueberry growers,” says Florida Blueberry Growers Association (FBGA) President Leonard Park. “As a nation, we must prioritize American food for our future generations.”
FBGA joins the Florida Farm Bureau, Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, and Florida Strawberry Growers Association in urging the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to act favorably upon this petition.
Here is some of what the other association leaders have to say:
“This is an unfortunate, but necessary, step toward correcting the unfair trade practices which are driving our farm families out of business.” — Florida Farm Bureau President Jeb S. Smith
“For too long, specialty crop growers across the U.S. have faced the devastating effects of unfair imports from Mexico. The urgency for immediate, effective, and enforceable relief cannot be overstated to support a U.S.-grown food supply and restore market fairness. The time to act is now.” — Mike Joyner, President of the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association
“The unfair trading practices have to be addressed with timely, effective, and durable measures in order to protect our nation’s food security. Specialty crop farmers have done their best to hold onto the ground they have in the market, but now is the time for relief in order to ensure domestically grown produce stays on the grocery store shelves.” — Kenneth Parker, Executive Director of the Florida Strawberry Growers Association
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried wrote to U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai in support of the petition filed under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 requesting the administration conduct an investigation into the flood of imported seasonal and perishable agricultural products from Mexico. Fried shared with Tai a recent report from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services that documents the decades-long economic harm to Florida growers due to the expansion of Mexican imports, causing estimated lost sales of 10% to 20%, 17,408 to 34,816 lost jobs, and a negative impact of $1.94 billion to $3.89 billion to the economy overall.
Fried writes: “Without relief, the future of our state’s second largest industry and the 2.4 million jobs it supports is at risk. Beyond the negative economic impact, this also poses a risk to the strength and security of our domestic food supply – a troubling matter of national security. Given the Biden Administration’s commitment to bolstering domestic supply chains, supporting American agriculture, and combatting unfair trade, we look forward to continuing to work with your office and other federal partners to provide timely and effective relief for our domestic seasonal produce industry and are hopeful that you will move forward with a Section 301 investigation as bipartisan members of the Florida Congressional Delegation have requested.”
Click here to read a copy of Fried’s letter in its entirety.