Fruit growers want trade partners to work tariffs out themselves, not tax their crops

Fruit growers say they have a lot to lose in a trade war. While there appears to be more clarity on the situation, cherry growers hope agriculture does not get caught in the middle.

“You know, our hope is that, so to speak, we get responses from between the United States and Mexico where, if there is going to be some type of trade war, that it’s more about specific products,” said BJ Thurlby, president of the Northeast Cherry Growers Association. “If it’s chips for computers, let’s keep it in the technology world and not turn around and tax apples. You know, that would be a perfect world for us, where we see like industries, if they have issues, let’s let them work it out.”

Thurlby tells aginfo.net that Mexico is an important market for apples, with tens of millions of boxes exported there each year.

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“Those could’ve easily been our beans going over there. It goes to show that if that opportunity is there, China would be willing to buy.”

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