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United Fresh / Trade

Trade

The U.S. fruit and vegetable industry and American consumers are highly dependent upon international trade, both exports from the U.S. and imports into the country. However, specific patterns of trade vary greatly among different commodities.  For example, exports are a major part of U.S. apple production, while the vast majority of avocados consumed in the U.S. come from Mexico, Chile and Peru. In addition, consumers demand 24-7 availability of produce commodities regardless of geographical growing season.

With this diversity, our industry has always supported free and fair trade globally, seeking to open markets to U.S. products while committing to reciprocal access for products to the United States.

Recent trade actions by the administration have further complicated the uncertainty of foreign markets for U. S. agriculture. Between China and the U.S. levying retaliatory tariffs that specifically impact on the produce industry, trade issues have never been more relevant. The actions taken by each country have triggered a flurry of tariff announcements and have poisoned the well with regards to future free trade agreements.

 On January 29, 2020, President Trump signed USMCA, finalizing the agreement after months of negotiations and compromise. USMCA is a milestone agreement, modernizing and building upon NAFTA, and showing a commitment to free and fair trade. Read Tom Stenzel’s comments on the agreement here. 

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement Details

 

Trade Issue Brief
State Profiles of Produce Across America

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Trade by the Numbers

  • Fresh fruit exports from the United States totaled more than $3 billion between Oct. 2018 – June 2019
  • Fresh vegetable exports from the United States totaled more than $2.12 billion between Oct. 2018 – June 2019
  • The fastest growing markets for U. S. produce include North America, China, Japan, the European Union, Hong Kong, South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines and Taiwan
  • Imports of fresh fruits and vegetables have increased by over $225 million
  • The increase in fruit and vegetable imports has had a net positive impact on U. S. job creation over the last 30 years and have benefitted consumer needs
  • 14 million jobs rely on trade with Canada and Mexico, two of the most important markets for fresh fruits and vegetables

Key Messaging Points

  • Find solutions that can enhance the competitiveness of U.S. growers without having unintended consequences that impact the flow of trade in North America
  • Pursue other trade agreements that can benefit the fresh produce industry and establish long-term certainty for businesses in our industry

United Fresh Trade Activities

Additional Resources

Trade Mitigation

American farmers have been targeted and have suffered the most as a result of unjustified foreign retaliatory tariffs. In particular, fruits and vegetables have been severely impacted. Not only have markets been disrupted (forcing prices to be raised), but it has been increasingly difficult for U.S. grown products to reach foreign markets due to difficult entry processes. In September, USDA announced a trade mitigation plan that would help growers and commodities from across the country who are suffering from the current trade climate.

As part of their mitigation plan, there are three buckets of funding for programs: the Market Facilitation Program, the Agriculture Trade Promotion Program, and the Food Purchase and Distribution Program.

Watch Secretary Perdue’s overview of the different programs here.

  • Market Facilitation Program ($4.6 billion) – To be administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), MFP will provide up to $4.6 billion in payments to corn, cotton, dairy, soybean, sorghum, hog and wheat producers. This program began in September 2018.
    • Applications can be found here.
    • Read USDA’s latest press release to see the most recent updates to the MFP.
    • Click here to find out if you are eligible, to see the included commodities, and for more resources.  
  • Agriculture Trade Promotion Program ($200 million) – this will help commodities looking for NEW markets. FAS will accept applications on a rolling basis until November 2, 2018. More details can be found here.
    • For more information on how to apply, click here.
    • More details can be found here.
  • Food Purchase and Distribution Program ($1.2 billion) – on October 1, 2018 AMS started to purchase products over four quarters in the new Federal fiscal year for USDA AMS to purchase commodities that have been impacted by trade war.  This will be on top of current Section 32 purchases. Approximately $300 million is available for fresh produce purchase.

Press Releases

USDA has released a number of press releases regarding the trade mitigation programs. To view the press releases, please select the date below.

Additional Resources

For more information, please contact Robert Guenther, Senior Vice President, Public Policy. 

To learn more about trade please contact John Hollay, Senior Director, Government Relations & Public Policy.