In response to President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia has issued a statement calling for swift resolution to the trade disputes.
“In the last month, the looming threat of these tariffs was enough to prompt some major Canadian grocery chains to either cancel orders from American growers as they pivoted to other countries capable of supplying them, or to require American growers to secure a foreign product supply to supplant their U.S.-grown crops,” Puglia said. “There is no question that with the move to impose these tariffs, our members will confront sweeping retaliatory actions that effectively block our American-grown fresh produce from those markets.”
Puglia said the risk is not just an immediate one.
“Years after the China tariffs and the predictable Chinese tariffs imposed in retaliation on many of our members’ U.S.-grown products, our ability to sell into the Chinese market remains handicapped in no small part because other countries took advantage of the disruption and captured much of that market,” he said. “This lingering economic harm is quite likely to be replicated this time on a broader scale as Canada and Mexico represent the top two export markets for fresh produce grown in the United States.
“Our first and by far most urgent call is for the Trump administration to move quickly to negotiate a stand-down with these important trading partners,” Puglia continued. “Beyond that, we ask that the Administration quickly implement mitigation programs to offset growers’ losses. This will aid in our shared goal of domestic food security and help American farmers maintain financial viability.”
