Administrasi Impor Departemen Perdagangan mengumumkan pada bulan September 27 keputusan awal untuk menghentikan penyelidikan anti-dumping yang ditangguhkan pada tomat Meksiko seperti yang diminta oleh AS. tomato growers. The Commerce Department also said if they make a final decision to terminate the suspended investigation it would also terminate a related suspension agreement that has governed U.S. impor tomat dari Meksiko sejak itu 1996.
Pelaksanaan NAFTA pada Januari 1, 1994 menghapus AS. import tariff on Mexican tomatoes. Almost immediately U.S. tomato producers for the winter fresh market accused Mexican producers of dumping tomatoes at low prices and driving domestic producers out of business. November 1, 1996 Perjanjian menangguhkan penyelidikan oleh Departemen Perdagangan yang dimulai sebagai akibat dari keluhan dumping yang diajukan oleh petani tomat di AS.. against Mexican producers. SEBUAH 2008 tinjauan perjanjian menetapkan harga dasar revisi untuk tomat Meksiko di $0.172 per pon di musim panas dan $0.216 per pon di musim dingin.
selain AS. para penanam berargumen bahwa mereka tidak dapat bersaing pada harga tersebut dan ingin kesepakatan dihentikan, not renegotiated. They believe it no longer is effective in protecting them from unfair competition from Mexico. Termination would allow them to file a new anti-dumping petition for new tariffs. The Commerce Department instead launched a ‘changed circumstances’ review to judge the level of support in the U.S. tomato industry for the suspension agreement. The public has a 40 periode komentar hari mulai bulan Oktober 2 when the notice appeared in the Federal Register. A final decision on the preliminary decision must be made by May 13, 2013.
Menurut analisis oleh Layanan Riset Ekonomi USDA, harga tomat di AS. dan Meksiko pada musim dingin yang lalu tertekan $0.30 per pound because of good crops in both countries. Winter freezes in parts of the two countries in the previous two years had resulted in winter tomato prices of $0.80 untuk $1.00 per pon. The expansion in greenhouses and other protected facilities in Mexico also reduces weather uncertainties in production.
Mexican tomato growers have made a proposal to the Commerce Department to keep the suspension agreement in place. They would accept a higher floor price for their tomatoes, secara substansial memperluas jumlah petani yang tercakup dalam perjanjian dan memperkuat penegakan hukum dengan melibatkan pemerintah Meksiko selain AS. government. The two parties to the suspension agreement are the Mexican tomato growers and the Commerce Department. selain AS. petani tomat bukan merupakan pihak dalam perjanjian penangguhan, tetapi Departemen Perdagangan akan memberi pengarahan kepada AS. growers as interested stakeholders. Itu Waktu New York melaporkan bahwa Reggie Brown, Wakil Presiden Eksekutif Florida Tomato Exchange, mengatakan bahwa dia tidak dapat membayangkan apa pun yang dapat ditawarkan oleh orang-orang Meksiko itu yang akan membuat perjanjian itu dapat diterima oleh para petani Amerika.
The Mexican government indicated it will retaliate to the fullest extent allowed. They consider the preliminary decision to end the suspension of the anti-dumping case to be an attempt by the Obama Administration to gain support of farmers in a key swing state in the Presidential election. Talk of Mexican retaliation brought up comparisons to the NAFTA trucking situation when Mexico placed tariffs on $2.4 miliar dari luar AS. agricultural exports to force the Obama Administration to alter its position. The value of Mexican tomato exports to the U.S. adalah $1.9 miliar per tahun.
Congress has already entered the dispute. Fifteen members of the House of Representatives from Florida, 10 Partai Republik dan 5 Demokrat, wrote to Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank indicating disappointment on the ‘changed circumstances’ review rather than terminating the suspension agreement giving producers the option to file a new anti-dumping investigation. Senator Ben Nelson (FL-D) voiced similar support for quick resolution of the ‘changed circumstances’ review.
That politics would enter a trade dispute in a Presidential election year is not a surprise. Both political parties slice the electorate into political interest subgroups and appeal to their specific needs. That tomato growers, pemasok input dan pekerja pertanian, would be one of those subgroups seems logical. Representatives from both parties signing a letter of support is a normal response to a local political constituency. A Senator running for reelection is expected to chime in.
The role of the President should be different. He is called upon to represent the broader interests of all consumers and exporters of other goods and services. The goal of the Florida tomato growers is to protect their business interests. Achieving that requires taxing the competition and that requires calculations to show that Mexican tomatoes are not priced high enough. Sebuah luar AS. Presiden seharusnya tidak menjadi bagian yang merugikan semua AS. konsumen dan eksportir lainnya.
Hampir 17 tahun setelah NAFTA diterapkan dan lima tahun setelah periode transisi terakhir berakhir, Amerika Serikat. and Mexico need a better way to settle these disputes than filing anti-dumping cases. Mexican chicken meat and pork producers continue to bring cases against U.S. produser seperti AS. tomato producers. Having a competitive advantage should not result in a trade dispute case. President Obama and Mitt Romney should commit to not using anti-dumping cases as should President-elect Nieto of Mexico.
An investment climate should be created where decisions can be made with a long-term view knowing that producing a quality product at a competitive price will be rewarded. Mexican producers have invested in new technology and claim their vine-ripened tomatoes are superior products. Their market share in the U.S. pasar segar musim dingin telah meningkat dari sekitar sepertiga menjadi setengah dari yang terakhir 16 tahun.
The three NAFTA countries will never reach their full potential of investment opportunities for producers and savings from lower prices for consumers until political influence in importing and exporting is further reduced. Politicians will continue to intervene as long as political rewards are available.
Ross Korves adalah Analis Kebijakan Ekonomi dengan Kebenaran Tentang Perdagangan dan Teknologi