Tart Cherry Growers Cheer for Tariff on Imported Juice

Posted by Christina Herrick|November 6, 2018

Michigan tart cherry growers are cheering a new measure which removed the duty-free status of cherry juice imported from Turkey. Turkey is the largest producer of cherries, with the U.S. in second place.

“The Turkish imports are killing local farmers on the ability to sell tart cherries on the domestic market. Farmers have been taking trees out and getting into other crops,” grower Ben LaCross from Leelanau, MI, told the Traverse City Record-Eagle.

LaCross told The Record-Eagle the half-cent duty on each liter of imported tart cherry juice is small, but it’s a step in the right direction as the industry is just starting to understand the impact of Turkish imports, saying, “we still feel Turkey is dumping cherries on the U.S. market.”

“This is a significant step forward for the tart cherry industry,” said Phil Korson, President of the Cherry Marketing Institute in a statement from Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s office. “The flood of cheap imports has severely affected Michigan cherry growers’ bottom line. This important change will help ensure our world-famous tart cherries are getting a fair shake.”