Inflation

Trump Ended Free Trade for Mexican Tomatoes. Prices Are Up 23 Percent in the Last Year.

America gets 90 percent of its fresh tomatoes from Mexico, and those imports were tariff-free until last year.

Eric Boehm | 4.17.2026 1:25 PM

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(Illustration: Николай Митрофанов/Dreamstime)

When the Trump administration tore up a trade agreement that allowed fresh tomatoes to be imported from Mexico without tariffs, the White House framed it as a victory for "American farmers, growers, and business owners."

Experts in the produce industry, however, warned that consumers would be paying the price.

The end of the Tomato Suspension Agreement between the U.S. and Mexico was a "big concern," Javier "JJ" Badillo, chair of the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas (FPAA)'s tomato division, told FreshFruitPortal.com, a trade publication, in July. Badillo predicted higher prices and diminished volumes of fresh tomatoes, even though it would take "six to nine months" for the consequences to become apparent.

Chalk up another victory for the experts over the........

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