Mexico agriculture minister says reached deals with US counterpart, met with tomato sector

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By Cassandra Garrison

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexican Agriculture Minister Julio Berdegue said on Tuesday he reached agreements with U.S. counterpart Brooke Rollins in a “friendly” meeting in Washington and met with tomato industry executives.

Berdegue did not elaborate in his post on X, but said the deals would benefit both countries.

He later posted again on X saying he met with more than two dozen representatives and companies involved in distributing Mexican tomatoes in the U.S.

Washington has said it intends to withdraw from a bilateral agreement on Mexican tomato exports, citing its failure to protect domestic growers. A U.S. pullout would result in duties of nearly 20.91% on most Mexican tomato exports as of July 14.

“They highlighted the adverse effects of the measure adopted by the U.S. government, which will make tomatoes more expensive for consumers,” Berdegue said about his meeting with executives.

Mexico’s government said in April it hoped to begin talks to renew the agreement, and has been working to smooth out other recent tensions including the handling of a damaging pest called New World screwworm after the U.S. threatened to limit cattle imports from Mexico.

Screwworm can infest livestock, wildlife and in rare cases, people. Maggots from screwworm flies burrow into the skin of living animals, causing serious and often fatal damage.

Frictions have also surfaced between the trading partners over a decades-old water sharing treaty under which Mexico has struggled to deliver on its obligations.

Last week, both governments announced an agreement that Mexico would increase its water shipments, which the U.S. has said are vital for Texas farmers.

(Reporting by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Natalia Siniawksi and Richard Chang)