May 13, 2025

TIPA voices concerns about tomato agreement termination

The Texas International Produce Association (TIPA) is warning that ending the U.S.-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA) could bring economic chaos and higher tomato prices across the U.S.

“If the U.S. Department of Commerce terminates the U.S.-Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement (TSA) this summer, Americans could soon face skyrocketing tomato prices, widespread job losses, and major disruptions across national food supply chains,” TIPA officials said in a news release.

In April, Traveler Produce in Pharr, Texas, hosted industry leaders at a news conference designed to call on federal officials to preserve and modernize the TSA — a critical agreement that has protected American consumers and businesses for nearly three decades, according to the release.

“The Tomato Suspension Agreement works,” Dante Galeazzi, the Mission, Texas-based TIPA’s president and CEO, said in the release. “We need access to more fresh produce, not less. For the sake of our health, our communities’ economic well-being, and our taste buds, we must preserve and modernize this agreement rather than dismantle it.”

The proposed termination, scheduled to take effect July 14, would impose what TIPA characterizes as a punitive 21% anti-dumping duty on Mexican tomatoes, which industry experts and economists warn would sharply increase prices and threaten availability nationwide, according to the release.

“South Texans need economic stability, not chaos and higher prices,” U.S. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), said in the release. “The termination of the Tomato Suspension Agreement will be detrimental to produce prices in Texas and the Rio Grande Valley. About 50% of all Mexican tomatoes enter through ports of entry in the Rio Grande Valley and are an essential food in our community. I have always been a staunch advocate for more fair trade between our trading partners, but the termination of this agreement will cause us more harm than good.”

That harm can have a huge impact on Texas and the U.S. economies, according to the release. According to a 2025 economic study conducted by Texas A&M University’s Center for North American Studies, the U.S. imported $3.12 billion worth of fresh tomatoes from Mexico, supporting 46,936 American jobs including an impact to the total U.S. economy of more than $8.33 billion. In other words, for every $1 of Mexican tomatoes imported, the U.S. receives $2.67 of domestic economic benefit, according to the release.

TIPA urges policymakers, industry stakeholders and the public to advocate for preserving and modernizing the agreement. Termination would mean shortages and price hikes of fresh tomatoes at stores and widespread job losses across multiple sectors, according to the release.