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Food Fight: Trump Administration Levels Tariffs On Mexican Tomatoes
And while all this is happening with China, there's another trade skirmish on the horizon. It's going to play out in the supermarket produce aisle. The Trump administration is preparing to level tariffs on fresh tomatoes imported from Mexico. The move comes in response to a growing outcry from Florida tomato growers. They've got a lot of political leverage, as NPR's Scott Horsley reports.
SCOTT HORSLEY: If you pick up a ripe red tomato in the grocery store this time of year, chances are good it was grown south of the border.
MICHAEL SCHADLER: Depending on where you are in the country, especially at the retail level, you're going to see mostly Mexican tomatoes at this time of year.
HORSLEY: That's Michael Schadler, executive vice president of the Florida Tomato Exchange. Florida used to dominate the American market for tomatoes sold in the winter and spring. But over the last two decades, Florida growers have been losing ground to Mexico. That country now grows more than half the fresh tomatoes sold in the United States. Mexican imports have more than doubled since 2002. Tony DiMare's family used to farm 5,000 acres of winter tomatoes near Homestead, Fla. Today, that shrunk by about 90%.
TONY DIMARE: To me, the tomato industry is a model child of what has happened with NAFTA and free trade.
HORSLEY: Florida growers have long complained that Mexico is unfairly subsidizing its tomato crop and otherwise taking advantage of the United States with the tacit approval of the U.S. government. Now the Trump administration is changing course. The administration served notice that it's about to add a tariff on Mexican tomatoes of nearly 18%, welcome news to Schadler and the Florida growers he represents.
SCHADLER: This is the day we've been waiting for for a while.
HORSLEY: Florida Congressman Ted Yoho and colleagues, including Senator Marco Rubio, lobbied for the change. Yoho complains Mexico has been selling its tomatoes at artificially low prices.
TED YOHO: Our producers can't get a box, a wrapper and the seeds in the ground for what Mexico is selling it for.
HORSLEY: But Mexican growers and the companies that import their fruit insist price is not the biggest factor here. Lance Jungmeyer, who heads an association of produce importers in Nogales, Ariz., says unlike Florida tomatoes that are mostly picked green, Mexican tomatoes are typically allowed to ripen on the vine. Jungmeyer argues consumers are simply voting with their taste buds.
LANCE JUNGMEYER: Tomatoes that we see today have very good flavor. They have nice acidity. They pop when you bite into them. Back in the day, before the innovations, we had a lot of pink and mealy tomatoes that, frankly, didn't keep consumers coming back.
HORSLEY: Jungmeyer argues, rather than update their farming procedures, Florida growers have sought protectionist measures from the government. He warns the new import duties will raise prices and limit consumer choice.
JUNGMEYER: Duties are harmful to the American consumers. It's a tax on consumers, and that's the wrong way to deal with fruits and vegetables.
HORSLEY: Nevertheless, the Trump administration has embraced tariffs on a wide variety of imports, from washing machines to solar panels. Now that Mexican tomatoes are being added to that list, Florida growers say they feel like they have an ally in the White House. Still, Congressman Ted Yoho says the administration might not have acted without pressure from Florida lawmakers. And here, Yoho had a bargaining chip because Trump needs all the congressional support he can get to ratify his new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.
YOHO: We voiced our opinion that if we don't get the seasonally growing vegetables straightened out, I can't support the USMCA.
HORSLEY: In other words, the price of a new North American Free Trade Agreement may be tariffs on Mexican tomatoes. Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.
知识点笔记：
1.tariff&duty
- tariff: a tax on goods coming into a country or going out of a country, especially to protect a country's industry from cheap goods from other countries关税.
tariffs和on是好拍档，常在一起出现，前面的动词就可以自由选择，如本文中用了level, embrace, add，常用的还有：impose, levy, eliminate,....
e.g. 1.the import tariffs on hi-tech equipment.
2.The government's tariff and trade policies came under fierce attack. - duty: a tax you pay on something you buy税.
e.g. 1.The budget also sharply raised the duty on alcohol and tobacco.
2.customs duty: tax you pay on goods you buy and bring into the country, similar to"tarriff"
3.免税店的标志：dutyfree，shopping 还能学英文，好开心，哈哈！
2.skirmish：小规模冲突，新闻中常用词，例如，Border skirmishes between India and Pakistan were common.
3.outcry：an angry protest by a lot of ordinary people强烈抗议。看这个词的词根就理解了，cry+out
e.g. There was public outcry from those opposed to abortion.
4.leverage: influence that you can use to make people do what you want.
e.g. I have no leverage over her; you do.
5.文中对贸易竞争的描述:
- dominate the market
- lose ground to Mexico
- Mexico take advantage of US
take advantage of somebody: to treat someone unfairly in order to get what you want, especially someone who is generous or easily persuaded.简而言之，就是——占便宜。
e.g. Don't lend them the car – they're taking advantage of you!
6.shrink
e.g. We want to expand the business, not shrink it.
7.a model child of : a good example of ...
8.change course
course：由路线引申为处理方式、行为方式
e.g. Vietnam is trying to decide on its course for the future.
9.lobby: to try to persuade the government or someone with political power that a law or situation should be changed（向政府官员）游说。（新闻常见词）
- lobby for/against
e.g. The group is lobbying for a reduction in defence spending. - lobby somebody to do something
e.g. We've been lobbying our state representative to support the new health plan.
10.ripe的发音：
a ripe red tomato
ripen on the vine
11.这几句我觉得可以用于聊美食：
voting with their taste buds
Tomatoes that we see today have very good flavor. They have nice acidity. They pop when you bite into them. 尤其是这个pop那个爆汁的感觉就出来了，用词妙！想起一个词，popcorn爆米花。
e.g. The lid popped open and juice spilled all over the floor.
12.贸易保护主义
protectionist adj.
protectionism n.
13.chip:赌博中的筹码，引申义：a chip or a bargaining chip(谈判中的)筹码，讨价还价的资本
e.g. 1.The information could be used as a bargaining chip to extract some parallel information from Britain.
2.He was not expected to be released because he was considered a valuable chip in this game.
14.ratify: When national leaders or organizations ratify a treaty or written agreement, they make it official by giving their formal approval to it, usually by signing it or voting for it.正式签署、批准、认可
e.g. We hope that the republics will be willing to ratify the treaty.
15.straighten out: 理清、整顿organize things
e.g. 1.There are several financial problems that need to be straightened out quickly.
2.He would make an appointment with him to straighten out a couple of things.
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