Allison Moore: Free Trade to Fee Trade: A New Reality

The great disruptors facing the fresh produce industry in 2025 have been the ever-changing implementation tariffs and the anti-dumping duties impacting one very large produce category: tomatoes.

For many decades, the fresh produce industry has evolved under tariff-free conditions that helped U.S. companies build dynamic supply chains that leveraged the strengths of diverse growing regions. Growing in a climate best suited for a specific commodity during a specific time of year has made the produce industry stronger by reducing supply gaps and increasing quality.

Trade means that U.S. growers and distributors looking to partner with retail and foodservice buyers for longer supply windows are able to do that by working with growers in regions across our many trading partners.

The result has been an amazing transformation in the produce world. Consumers can now find most fresh produce items throughout the year when they go to the grocery store. Gone are the long, dark winters without a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.

TARIFF-FREE GROWTH

Trade has also driven innovation in the industry. We see new, exciting varieties of all kinds of fresh produce items — from the multitudes of table grapes to tomatoes of every shape, size and color, a rainbow of bell peppers large and small, mini pickles, a whole host of Asian vegetables, and more.

The evolution in the produce industry has also changed how items are grown. We have seen U.S. companies investing in and creating partnerships with greenhouse growers in much of Mexico, Canada, and pockets in the U.S., leading to consistent supplies, improved quality, and wiser use of resources. We see advancements in drip irrigation, integrated pest management, soil health, and adaptations to address climate change.

This trade activity creates a strong economic impact on the United States. For example, a Texas A&M Study estimates that fresh tomatoes imported into the U.S. from Mexico generate over $8.3 billion in economic activity and support more than 46,000 U.S. jobs. Imagine the positive impact across all commodities that U.S. companies are importing into the U.S.!

THE DISRUPTIONS: TARIFFS

With a change in U.S. presidential administrations, however, a new focus on tariffs or duties to recalibrate trade flows means that many of the efficiencies, strengths and innovation created across supply chains will now be challenged.

Unfortunately, tariffs create supply chain, pricing, and supply pressures that will negatively impact U.S. companies. These challenges are forcing companies to make hard decisions and rethink their supply chains based on an ever-changing tariff landscape. Companies are renegotiating business relationships with suppliers and buyers, and consumers will be picking up the tab for the increases in price resulting from the tariffs.

There is the belief that applying tariffs to imported produce will make supply chains return to the U.S. However, tariffs do not create beneficial climates in the off-season. Tariffs do not create an adequate workforce in the U.S. to work on farms. Tariffs do not magically construct decades worth of greenhouses in the blink of an eye to replace imported produce. Tariffs do not make supply chains more resilient.

Tariffs add cost for businesses and consumers. Tariffs also create cash flow issues. Tariffs undermine trading relationships that have evolved over decades. Tariffs create uncertainty of supply.

BIGGER THREAT

On top of tariffs, we are also facing the industry-crushing implementation of anti-dumping duties on fresh tomatoes from Mexico, the major supplier to the U.S. of vine-ripened round and roma tomatoes, the wide variety of cherry and grape tomatoes of varying colors, tomatoes on the vine, and a whole lot of new tomato varieties made possible by the greenhouse revolution in North America.

If tariffs are like a traffic jam during rush hour, then anti-dumping duties are like destroying bridges and taking our roads during an evacuation order. Tariffs create uncertainty and increased costs, and anti-dumping duties create major havoc that is meant to disrupt and destroy industries.

UNCHARTED TERRITORY

For U.S. companies sourcing from Mexico, that is not going to be any different. The anti-dumping duties have taken the industry into uncharted territory. When there are weather impacts like hurricanes in Florida, labor impacts in the U.S., continued land use pressures in the U.S., and other challenges facing domestic agriculture, then the industry and consumers are in a whole new world.

Companies are working to find a path forward while continuing to provide fresh produce year-round for consumers.

We have not yet seen the full fallout from the varying tariff rates from our different trading partners or the duties on tomatoes being paid by U.S. importers. In the meantime, companies are working to find a path forward for themselves and their employees while continuing to provide fresh produce year-round for consumers.

Allison Moore is executive vice president of Fresh Produce of the Americas, which is headquartered in Nogales, AZ.