The California Avocado Commission has released a new campaign video, warning that American farmers face a "culinary disaster" from an unlevel playing field with Mexican imports.
The Commission's announcement coincides with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer's statement that the United States has declined to renew the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in its current form. As Washington prepares for a third round of bilateral negotiations with Mexico, domestic growers urgently call for a seasonal import policy to prevent the industry from being wiped out.
Domestic growers face immense pressure from foreign oversupply during the peak American harvest window. The Commission advocates for a seasonal Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) on Mexican imports from March through September. This proposal would allow a baseline volume of Mexican avocados to enter the U.S. duty-free; imports exceeding that threshold would face high tariffs. Prominent industry figures and political leaders support the initiative.
A driving force behind the Commission’s urgent appeal to Washington is the dangerous escalation of organized crime infiltrating Mexico’s multi-billion-dollar avocado trade. As shifts in the international illicit drug market—particularly the rise of synthetic fentanyl—eroded traditional cartel revenues, powerful criminal syndicates diversified their operations by extorting agricultural sectors.
In major Mexican production hubs like Michoacán and Jalisco, violent cartels now aggressively extort local growers, hijack cargo trucks, and control key points of the supply chain. This volatile climate has led to severe disruptions in safety oversight. The California Avocado Commission previously raised concerns that cartel threats and violence have directly compromised and reduced U.S. federal oversight of Mexican avocado pest inspections. Without stringent, uncompromised inspections, imported fruit poses a major risk of introducing destructive, invasive pests into American soil, threatening the entire domestic agricultural infrastructure.
Avocados are native to the New World, cultivated for thousands of years. California's commercial industry began in 1871, and the Hass avocado, patented in 1935, became a global standard. Beyond geopolitics, the avocado remains a vital superfood, and preserving access to high-quality, safely regulated avocados is essential for public health.
American growers emphasize that they cannot continue to provide this vital crop under current trade conditions. By implementing a seasonal tariff policy, the agriculture sector hopes to protect domestic farms from being entirely supplanted by cartel-compromised and environmentally under-regulated supply chains.
