美国国家公共电台 NPR Food Fight: Trump Administration Levels Tariffs On Mexican Tomatoes

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

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 aisle¹. The Trump² administration is preparing to level tariffs⁴ 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 leverage⁶, as NPR's Scott Horsley reports.

SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE⁷: 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 retail⁸ level, you're going to see mostly Mexican tomatoes at this time of year.

HORSLEY: That's Michael Schadler, executive vice⁹ 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 tariff³ 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 Congressman¹⁰ Ted⁵ 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 ripen¹¹ 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 acidity¹². They pop when you bite into them. Back in the day, before the innovations, we had a lot of pink and mealy tomatoes that, frankly¹³, 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 ratify¹⁴ his new trade agreement with Mexico and Canada.

YOHO: We voiced our opinion that if we don't get the seasonally¹⁵ 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.

1 aisle   

n.（教堂、教室、戏院等里的）过道，通道

参考例句：

• The aisle was crammed with people.过道上挤满了人。
• The girl ushered me along the aisle to my seat.引座小姐带领我沿着通道到我的座位上去。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

4 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

5 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

6 leverage   

n.力量，影响；杠杆作用，杠杆的力量

参考例句：

• We'll have to use leverage to move this huge rock.我们不得不借助杠杆之力来移动这块巨石。
• He failed in the project because he could gain no leverage. 因为他没有影响力，他的计划失败了。

7 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

8 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

9 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

10 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

11 ripen   

vt.使成熟；vi.成熟

参考例句：

• I'm waiting for the apples to ripen.我正在等待苹果成熟。
• You can ripen the tomatoes on a sunny windowsill.把西红柿放在有阳光的窗台上可以让它们成熟。

12 acidity   

n.酸度，酸性

参考例句：

• This plant prefers alkaline soil,though it will readily tolerate some acidity.这种植物在酸性土壤中也能生存，但硷性土壤更加适宜。
• Gastric acidity would not prevent the organism from passing into the gut.胃的酸度不能防止细菌进入肠道。

13 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

14 ratify   

v.批准，认可，追认

参考例句：

• The heads of two governments met to ratify the peace treaty.两国政府首脑会晤批准和平条约。
• The agreement have to be ratify by the board.该协议必须由董事会批准。

15 seasonally   

参考例句：

• The price of vegetables fluctuates seasonally. 蔬菜的价格随季节变动。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They moved seasonally among various vegetation types to feed on plants that were flourishing. 它们还随着季节的变化而在各种类型植物之间迁移，以便吃那些茂盛的植物。 来自辞典例句