Value Chain Coalition Warns Against USMCA Produce Restrictions
Food, retail, restaurant and farm groups urge USTR Greer to preserve tariff-free North American agriculture trade, arguing seasonal produce limits would raise consumer costs and invite retaliation against major U.S. farm exports.
A broad food and agriculture value-chain coalition is pressing U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to support renewal of USMCA while preserving duty-free agricultural trade, including for seasonal produce. The July 9 letter (link) argues that tariffs, tariff-rate quotas or similar limits on Mexican and Canadian produce would disrupt an already integrated North American supply chain, reduce year-round availability of fresh foods and raise costs for consumers and businesses.
The core argument is that U.S. produce production cannot fully supply a 52-week market because of water limits, labor and regulatory costs, climate constraints and land availability. Imports, the letter says, are not displacing domestic production but complementing it. Avocados are used as the clearest example: California supplies only about 10% of annual U.S. volume and up to 17% at peak, making imports essential to year-round availability.
The coalition also frames the issue as a broader agricultural export risk, not just a produce fight. Mexico and Canada bought more than $60 billion in U.S. agricultural products in 2024, representing about one-third of total U.S. ag exports. Mexico is highlighted as a major market for corn, dairy, poultry, pork, beef, soybean meal, distillers grains, rice and sweeteners. The letter warns that any U.S. move to restrict seasonal produce could trigger retaliation against those export categories, putting pressure on major farm-state commodities.
The analysis is straightforward: this is a pre-emptive push against renewed protectionist arguments around seasonal produce as USMCA review politics intensify. The signers are trying to broaden the debate beyond Florida and southeastern produce complaints by emphasizing downstream U.S. jobs in transportation, warehousing, distribution, retail and foodservice. Their economic message is that North American produce trade is not merely an import channel; it is a logistics and consumer-supply system that supports domestic business activity.
The letter’s political significance is the range of signers. It includes produce firms and trade groups, but also the National Corn Growers Association, USA Poultry & Egg Export Council, National Restaurant Association, National Retail Federation and Corn Refiners Association. That mix signals concern that a narrow seasonal-produce remedy could spill over into retaliation against high-value U.S. agricultural exports. For USTR, the coalition is essentially arguing that preserving duty-free agriculture under USMCA is a lower-risk strategy than reopening a sensitive produce dispute that could undermine broader farm and food-sector gains.
