‘Seasonal’ tariffs would make America's food supply less secure

As the U.S. and Mexico entered their fourth round of trade talks — with nearly $1 trillion in annual goods and services exchange at stake — an old protectionist idea has returned at exactly the wrong moment. Florida produce growers are pressing the Trump administration for “seasonality” protections, including seasonal, product-specific tariff-rate quotas on Mexican fruits and vegetables during peak U.S. harvest periods. The proposal may sound reasonable. American farmers should be protected from genuinely unfair trade. But seasonality is bad economics, bad trade policy and — as Florida itself recently demonstrated — bad for America’s food security. The Trump administration should reject it. Start with the economics. Seasonality is primarily intended to protect growers in Florida and parts of the Southeast. But trade policy is national policy. Protecting one region from competition can impose costs on farmers, businesses and consumers throughout the rest of the country. In July, a coalition of 24 U.S. agricultural groups, producers, distributors, restaurants and retailers wrote directly to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick opposing seasonal restrictions. Their argument was straightforward: seasonal tariffs or tariff-rate quotas will disrupt an integrated North American food supply chain, increase costs for American consumers and invite Mexican retaliation agains…