Georgia Farmers Plead With Federal Government To Protect Against ‘Devastating’ Effects of Mexican Imports
Georgia has been among the nation’s top blueberry-producing states, a title that is threatened by the trade situation.
Robert F. Bukaty, File / Associated Press
At a virtual hearing Thursday, Georgia farmers and agriculture advocates pleaded with the U.S. Trade Representative and the Departments of Agriculture and Commerce to help the southeastern seasonal produce industry struggling to compete with cheaper Mexican imports.
“We have no choice but to seek our government’s help to impact every legal and policy mechanism available,” said Charles Hall, executive director of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association. “Our growers are in a fight for their survival,” he said.
Georgia Congressman Austin Scott testified that the situation, of unfettered Mexican imports at low costs that Americans cannot match, makes it “nearly impossible for American producers to compete.”
Mexican growers do not have the same wage laws and environmental regulations American farmers are required to abide by.
“That leaves American growers in important farming regions like Georgia and Florida and elsewhere far more exposed than they should be to unfair and often devastating import injury,” Scott said.
University of Georgia economic modeling has predicted major effects to the industry should the status quo remain, including one billion dollars worth of annual economic impact, 8,000 jobs, and estimated income losses of more than 40% for two Georgia counties. “On a county-by-county basis, the losses in a few cases will likely reach economic damage rarely seen since the Great Depression,” the report said.
The impact on blueberries is the worst, said Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black. Georgia has been among the nation’s top blueberry-producing states, a title that is threatened by the trade situation.
“To put it bluntly, our little community and many others like it in South Georgia are scared senseless as to what the future holds, concerning where we stand in the larger juggernaut of global trade,” testified Russ Goodman, a 7th generation South Georgia farmer in Clinch County. He estimated that American agriculture hourly wages are 12 times the hourly wage in Mexico.
“Will our country sacrifice our families and farmers? Because if nothing is done to change the current path we are on, that’s exactly what our country will be doing,” he said.
Growers in Georgia and Florida, have been lobbying the government to do something about Mexican trade practices since before the USMCA trade agreement, which was designed to replace NAFTA. The agreement that passed did not include any relief for these producers, to their dismay.
“It was on the table until the very last minute and didn’t make it. Why? We’re not real sure,” testified Zippy Duvall, a Georgia farmer and president of the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Instead, the U.S. Trade Representative promised to announce a plan to address the problem within 60 days of the agreement’s implementation, which began July 1.
“The things that we do know, is our farmers and ranchers that are growing fruits and vegetables are not on a level playing field,” Duvall said. “They’re competing against countries that have a lot cheaper labor where we do not want to and can’t here in our country.”
“If we don’t fix this problem and it continues to further harm our producers across the country, you’ll see an erosion of farmers’ support and trust in trade agreements. And that wouldn’t be good for any of us,” Duvall said. “So we need to find a fix for this problem.”
State Rep. Sam Watson, a third-generation farmer in Colquitt County, said he’s had to dump squash because he hasn’t been able to sell it. He warned there’s a “good chance” he will be the last generation in his family to farm if trade policy on this issue doesn’t change.
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