USApple Applauds Removal of Section 232 Tariffs

Posted by Christina Herrick|May 20, 2019

Late last week, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announced a joint agreement with Canada and Mexico to remove Section 232 tariffs for steel and aluminum imports from Mexico and Canada and the removal of all retaliatory tariffs imposed on U.S. goods by those countries.

In a statement, Jim Bair, U.S. Apple Association (USApple) President and CEO, says his association and grower-members applaud the negotiations to remove Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum from Mexico and Canada. Apples were among the commodities hit with retaliatory tariffs from Mexico and Canada.

Bair touts “the successful negotiation of provisions going forward to protect agriculture from being drawn into future trade disputes involving metals.

“We welcome the return of duty-free access to Mexico, our largest export market, and continued duty-free access to Canada, our No. 2 market. The two countries combined represent a half-billion-dollar market for U.S. apple growers,” he continues. “Removal of the Section 232 tariffs and ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) have been our top priorities. Our efforts are now focused on securing congressional support and ratification of the USMCA, which will provide increased stability and predictability going forward.”