OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Terminating Tomato Suspension Agreement

Floor Speech

Date: July 22, 2025
Location: Washington, DC

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Mr. STANTON. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the Department of Commerce's decision to terminate the Tomato Suspension Agreement and slap a 20 percent tariff on tomatoes imported from Mexico.

This is a political choice that directly raises prices on American families and hurts American workers and businesses. It hits Arizona's economy especially hard. Nearly half of all tomatoes imported from Mexico come through our State.

This industry supports more than 22,000 jobs in Arizona, 50,000 nationally, and Trump's tomato tax puts $8.3 billion in economic activity at risk. In fact, 136 Arizona businesses have formally urged the Department of Commerce to preserve the Tomato Suspension Agreement: restaurants, retailers, trucking companies, and chambers of commerce.

This is all to overturn an effective and enforceable agreement that has been in place for almost 30 years, and it drives us away from Mexico at a time when we should be expanding our relationship with Arizona's and America's largest trading partner.

Ending the Tomato Suspension Agreement will lead to higher tomato prices and shortages around the country. I urge the Commerce Department to reverse course.

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