U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer is asking the International Trade Commission to monitor and investigate imports of strawberries and bell peppers, following requests by Florida groups representing growers of those crops.
The request, in accordance with the Tariff Act of 1930, covers “any matter involving tariffs or international trade, including conditions of competition between U.S. and foreign industries,” according to the commission’s website.
It follows a similar request in early October from Lighthizer to the ITC, asking it to investigate whether increased imports of blueberries have harmed, or threaten to harm, U.S. growers.
The Florida groups on Oct. 6 asked that strawberry and bell pepper imports be monitored.
“I have determined that imports of strawberries and bell peppers satisfy the requirements” of an investigation, Lighthizer wrote in the letter to the ITC, dated Nov. 3.
At two virtual hearings in August, growers, legislators and industry groups (primarily from Florida and Georgia) testified to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce and USTR on the damage imports have caused.
Lighthizer scheduled the hearings after provisions protecting seasonal crops were not included in the USMCA, which became effective in July.
The three entities released on Sept. 1 a comprehensive plan to address rising imports of fruits and vegetables, which included using established trade regulations to investigate the effects of blueberry, strawberry and bell pepper imports.
The Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, Florida Strawberry Growers Association, and the Florida Farm Bureau requested the strawberry and bell pepper investigations, according to the letter.
Blueberry update
The ITC reported the blueberry investigation is “extraordinarily complicated” and will make a decision by Feb. 11, according to a notice in the Federal Register.
The ITC will schedule a “hearing on injury” on Jan. 12. If it determines blueberry imports have caused injury, or if members are evenly split in their decision, it will have a hearing on remedy on Feb. 25.
According to a fact sheet on the process, the commission can recommend an increase in a duty, impose a quota, trade adjustment assistance or a combination of those measures.
The president, however, makes the decision “concerning the form of relief ultimately granted,” according to the fact sheet.
Unless President Trump’s legal challenges to the election results are successful, Joe Biden will be making those decisions, according to the ITC’s timeline.
