GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - According to Reuters, Mexico has placed a 20 percent tariff on U.S. apples, among other things, in the wake of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Mexico’s imported steel and aluminum, undercut-ting the longstanding North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) reached between the two countries.
Mexico is the largest export market for U.S. apples, and Washington state is the largest producer of apples in the country. The Evergreen State exports much of its apple crop to Mexico, so the Mexi-can tariffs may leave Michigan, the third-largest producer of apples, at risk of having a potential in-flux of apples domestically.
Michigan does not export to Mexico, but it grows more than 11.3 million apple trees covering 35,500 acres on 825 family-run farms, according to the Michigan Apple Committee. Much of the state’s apples are grown on the west side and are sold to 27 states and exported to 18 countries in Central America, the Caribbean and Asia, according to Diane Smith, executive directer of the Michigan Apple Committee.
Smith said depending on the crop year, the value of the export of Michigan apples is anywhere be-tween $4 million and $10 million, depending on the crop size. In recent years, Smith said Michigan has exported between 300,000 and 750,000 bushels of apples.
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