US Food Industry Appeals for Tariff Relief
The food industry in the United States is urgently requesting relief from President Trump’s tariffs, cautioning that these could lead to increased prices for various food items, from shrimp to fresh fruits and vegetables.
Rather than calling for a blanket cancellation of the tariffs, these trade organizations are aiming for specific exemptions for certain food products that cannot be produced at a large scale within the US.
Interestingly, the US Department of Agriculture reports that the tariffs are not the biggest issue; only about 20% of the country’s food is imported.
Yet, many food categories, like seafood, rely heavily on foreign sources. For instance, nearly 85% of seafood consumed in the US is imported, noted Gavin Gibbons, chief strategy officer at the US Fisheries Institute.
“So many different products are saying, ‘We’re unique, we need an exemption,’” Gibbons shared.
He noted, though, that seafood is particularly tricky. Gibbons is advocating for customs exemptions across the board for all seafood products.
He also explained that American producers can’t just ramp up their output to compensate for imports since US waters are already being fished to sustainable limits.
About 90% of shrimp consumed in the US also comes from imports, with India providing over a third of this supply. Trump is set to increase tariffs on India to 50% soon, as a consequence of its oil purchases from Russia.
On another note, fruit and vegetable imports have soared to $36 billion, with Mexico now surpassing Peru as the leading supplier of fruits and Canada for vegetables.
“We want fruits and vegetables to be left out of the tariff discussions,” stated Rebecka Adcock, vice president of government relations for the International Fresh Produce Association, in a conversation with Financial Times.
Recently, the National Restaurant Association cautioned that without tariff exemptions on fresh produce, menu prices could soar, especially since some items only grow seasonally.
“I see the need for more balanced trade deficits with other nations,” commented Sean Kennedy, executive vice president of the association, “but food products haven’t significantly contributed to these deficits, so we are hopeful for exemptions.”
Industry leaders remain optimistic about securing these specific exemptions, particularly following new trade agreements with Indonesia and resource regulations that the European Union does not impose.
Trump also exempted certain items like orange juice and Brazilian nuts from tariffs earlier this month, although coffee beans are not exempt, which may pose challenges for the US coffee sector.
In contrast, food trade across the US, Mexico, and Canada benefits from lower tariffs, thanks to exemptions linked to the 2020 trade agreement.
Andy Haring, vice president of the Food Industry Association (FMI), which collaborates with major grocery chains like Walmart and Albertsons, expressed that without specific food exemptions, “we will have to raise prices significantly.”
An FMI analysis highlighted cucumbers as a stark example of the issue. The proportion of US cucumber supply from imports soared from 35% in 1990 to nearly 90% today.
The US has attempted to boost cucumber production, but such efforts often require costly greenhouse conditions for most of the year, which can drive up prices, according to FMI.
“We hope to turn these tariffs into a more focused approach to support US production and jobs,” Haring stated.
However, Tom Madrecki, vice president of supply chain resilience at the Consumer Brands Association, emphasized that fully restoring free trade reminiscent of the 90s is unrealistic, despite the price implications.
“That era is behind us, both philosophically and politically,” he remarked.
