Product prices were briefly in place, and they cause headache
President Trump’s price plan for a load of 25% on all imports from Mexico and Canada has been underway for weeks. The prices are currently interrupted until April 2, when negotiations continue between the three nations.
However, at the beginning of March, after a deadline and before a break, the prices were officially in place for March 4 to 6, so importers must work out to pay them.
Dante Galeazzi, president and chief executive officer of Texas International? Produce Association (TIPA) BB #: 162361, said on March 18 that it was a confusing period, because many TIPA members imported fruit and vegetables imported from these three days and had to pay or report the prices within 10 days of importation.
“It has caused a lot of challenges,” he said. “People here have not paid prices on Mexican products for 30 years, so there is not much institutional knowledge.”
Tipa organized webinaries with customs lawyers and communicated in both directions with customs and the protection of American borders on the functioning of the evaluation system, for example, he said.
“(CBP) was great to help and answer questions, which is an excellent sign,” said Galeazzi.
At this stage, he said that Tipa members were preparing on April 2 for the prices to resume, and they have many concerns.
Galeazzi has also said that Trump’s “fair and reciprocal plan” in reciprocity with all American trade partners, which means that all the prices and costs that the United States pay to other nations will be in force for its products in the United States.
Galeazzi said the United States considered value-added taxes (VAT) as prices, and many Latin American countries have American products.
For the product industry, this means that all fruits and vegetables imported from countries with VAT will obtain similar costs here.
This would apply to lawyers for Colombia and the Guatemala and bananas of Costa Rica, for example.
“Right now, there is no exception for any article,” he said.
Tipa has members who are customs brokers, and Galeazzi said they had been useful to find answers to questions that deal with prices, such as reconditioning, evaluations and what can be deductible from the process.
“Right now, our priority is to understand this system as well as possible,” he said. “The devil is in detail.”
Galeazzi said that once the prices in place on April 2, consumers will probably see no effect for a few weeks, then there could be higher retail prices on imported products and possible shortages.
“In the long term, implications are difficult to say,” he said. “Volumes could change” as importers make commercial decisions.
Trump said prices are designed to help exporters get better offers and encourage more national production.
Regarding fresh fruits and vegetables, many observers have said that increasing domestic production on certain articles, such as bananas or lawyers, is simply impossible due to land, irrigation, labor and / or weather restrictions.
Industry leaders would like fruits and vegetables to be treated differently from manufactured products with regard to prices.
“I would like to see exemptions from fresh products, but we have not seen anything so far who indicates it,” said Galeazzi.
