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U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar and Ramiro Cavazos, the president and CEO of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, held a press conference on Saturday to urge the Trump administration to extend the Tomato Suspension Agreement or risk sweeping economic damage to business sectors built on stable tomato prices.
The 1996 agreement ends on July 15, and they said that would trigger an additional 17% tariff on tomatoes from Mexico if it wasn't extended.
Cuellar said ending the agreement will lead to not only a sharp increase in tomato prices for consumers, but also job losses for businesses.
A bill recently passed by the Texas Legislature and signed by Gov. Greg Abbott asked the U.S. Department of Commerce to extend the agreement for 90 days.
“Basically, [we're] asking and urging the Department of Commerce secretary to look at this agreement, so both legislators from Austin and from the State of Texas -- we've been pushing for this agreement. We cannot walk away from this,” Cuellar added.
Cuellar is senior member of the House Appropriations Committee.
A study from Texas A&M University estimated that the end of the agreement could threaten up to 32,000 Texas jobs and result in more than $4.5 billion in economic losses statewide.
Also on Saturday, the Trump administration threatened an additional 30% tariff on Mexico and the European Union.
