79 lawmakers push back on Mexican imports ahead of USMCA
A bipartisan group of 79 members of the U.S. House of Representatives is urging the Trump administration to strengthen trade protections for American specialty crop growers during the upcoming review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Led by U.S. Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia, the lawmakers sent a letter Tuesday to U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer highlighting what they describe as unfair competitive pressures facing U.S. fruit, vegetable, and tree nut producers from Mexican imports.
“America’s growers and producers are the best in the world,” Scott said. “Current Mexican trade practices have flooded our markets with products that are held to a lower production standard than those produced here by American farmers. The USMCA review process gives us an opportunity to reaffirm and recommit our support for domestic agriculture and the American farmer by forcing Mexico to play by the same rules if they want to import to the United States.”
The lawmakers argue that imports from Mexico have created a growing imbalance for U.S. specialty crop producers, especially during peak harvest windows when domestic growers are most vulnerable to price pressure. According to the letter, fresh fruit and vegetable imports from Mexico have increased by more than 550 percent since 2001.
The members of Congress pointed to several factors they say contribute to Mexico’s competitive advantage, including lower labor costs and fewer regulatory burdens.
“Mexican producers operate with significantly lower labor and production expenses — agricultural wages are about one-tenth of U.S. levels — while U.S. growers depend heavily on the higher-cost H-2A program for seasonal labor,” the letter states.
The lawmakers also emphasized the national security implications of maintaining a strong domestic food supply.
“Without measures to restore competitive balance, specialty crop production will increasingly move to foreign countries,” the members wrote. “We urge you to evaluate trade actions that can safeguard U.S. growers from unfair pressures from Mexico. This work is essential to maintaining U.S. competitiveness in the specialty crop sector and to ensuring Americans continue to have access to high-quality, domestically grown food — an issue fundamental to our national security.”
The letter encourages the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to prioritize feedback submitted by specialty crop organizations as part of the 2026 USMCA review process.
Organizations endorsing the letter include the American Farm Bureau Federation, Florida Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association, Georgia Farm Bureau, National Onion Association, National Pecan Federation, and several regional commodity groups representing blueberry, pecan, watermelon, asparagus, sweet potato, and raspberry growers.
The full congressional letter was signed by lawmakers from both parties, including Reps. Sanford Bishop Jr., Jim Costa, Lucy McBath, Darren Soto, Kathy Castor, Raul Ruiz, and Suzan DelBene alongside Republican members from major agricultural states.
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